When to Plant Rock Cress in Bowie, MD

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 a good idea to plant rock cress by looking at the USDA zone info for Bowie.


Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Rock Cress tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive 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 Bowie 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. Any later than that and 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bowie. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Bowie may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bowie there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rock cress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bowie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Bowie

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