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When to Plant Watercress in Granite City, IL

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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant watercress by using the USDA zone info for Granite City.


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 do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle 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 Granite City 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Granite City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Granite City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Granite City there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Granite City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Granite City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Granite City.