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.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Punta Gorda should be figured out by referring to 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 do ok in moderate cold 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 watercress in Punta Gorda 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Punta Gorda the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Punta Gorda is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Punta Gorda you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your watercress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Punta Gorda

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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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 Punta Gorda

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Punta Gorda.