Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

In Opelousas you can figure out when it's possible to plant garden cress by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garden cress

Frost tolerance for garden cress:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant garden cress until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant garden cress in Opelousas 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 garden cress and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your garden cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your garden cress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Opelousas the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Opelousas and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Opelousas it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your garden cress in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Opelousas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Opelousas

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