When to Plant Rock Cress in De Witt, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 best time to plant rock cress in De Witt can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


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 do well in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in De Witt 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. If you wait any later than that and your rock cress may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In De Witt the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for De Witt and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in De Witt you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your rock cress in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for De Witt

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in De Witt

You may be interested in your other planting guides for De Witt.