Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Dawson should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant rock cress.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Rock Cress can survive in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in Dawson 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 rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rock cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dawson the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dawson 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 Dawson you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your rock cress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dawson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dawson

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