One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant bittercress by looking at the USDA zone info for Merced.

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.

Bittercress do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Merced 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. Any later than that and your bittercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bittercress indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Merced. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merced and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Merced you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bittercress in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merced

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Merced.