When to Plant Watercress in Geneseo, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant watercress by checking out the USDA zone info for Geneseo.


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.

Watercress tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Geneseo 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Geneseo. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Geneseo is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Geneseo last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneseo

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 Geneseo

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