When to Plant Watercress in New Haven, CT

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

The first chance to plant watercress in New Haven should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


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.

Since watercress 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 plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant watercress in New Haven is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Haven the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Haven and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Haven there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Haven

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in New Haven

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Haven.