One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz you will be able 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.

Bittercress can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Santa Cruz 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bittercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Cruz may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Cruz last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your bittercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Cruz.