The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant watercress is to use the USDA zone info for Desert Hot Springs.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Watercress do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Desert Hot Springs is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Desert Hot Springs. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Desert Hot Springs and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Desert Hot Springs you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your watercress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Desert Hot Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Desert Hot Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Desert Hot Springs.