When to Plant Purple Rock Cress in Petaluma, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The earliest that you can plant purple rock cress in Petaluma should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Purple Rock Cress

Frost tolerance for purple rock cress: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Purple Rock Cress do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant purple rock cress
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant purple rock cress
Probably not a good time to plant purple rock cress

The earliest that you can plant purple rock cress in Petaluma is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purple rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your purple rock cress may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your purple rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Petaluma the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Petaluma is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Petaluma it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your purple rock cress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petaluma

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Petaluma

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