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

The best time to plant bittercress in Crystal Lake should be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Crystal Lake 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. Any later than that and your bittercress may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bittercress indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Crystal Lake. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Crystal Lake it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your bittercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal Lake

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 Crystal Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal Lake.