One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant rock cress in Andover can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in Andover 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 rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. 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 has passed is on May 15 in Andover. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Andover and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Andover there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your rock cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Andover

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Andover

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