When to Plant Bittercress in Lake Forest, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Lake Forest it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant bittercress.


Planting Calendar for Bittercress

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

Since bittercress are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bittercress
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bittercress
Probably not a good time to plant bittercress

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Lake Forest 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 bittercress and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bittercress may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bittercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Lake Forest. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lake Forest is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Forest last frost occurs after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your bittercress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.