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 Frederick you can figure out when it's possible to plant watercress by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Frederick 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. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Frederick the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Frederick is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Frederick you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your watercress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Frederick

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Frederick

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