When to Plant Rock Cress in Oak Forest, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Oak Forest can be used to determine when you can 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 do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Oak Forest 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rock cress indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oak Forest. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Forest is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Forest there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your rock cress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Forest

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 Oak Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Forest.