Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant bittercress is to check out the USDA zone info for Bourbonnais.

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.

Since bittercress are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Bourbonnais 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 bittercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bourbonnais. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bourbonnais may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bourbonnais you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bittercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bourbonnais

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bourbonnais

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