When to Plant Watercress in College Park, MD

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.

The USDA zone info for College Park can be used to estimate when it's possible to plant watercress.


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 ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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 College Park 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 really do well. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In College Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for College Park is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in College Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your watercress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for College Park

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 College Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for College Park.