When to Plant Rock Cress in Gurnee, IL

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

By using the USDA zone info for Gurnee you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant rock cress.


Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

Frost tolerance for rock cress: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since rock cress are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Gurnee 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rock cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Gurnee. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gurnee and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Gurnee there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your rock cress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gurnee

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 Gurnee

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