When to Plant Watercress in Lexington, MO

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Lexington you can figure out when it's the best time to plant watercress by looking at 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 do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender 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 Lexington 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. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 Lexington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lexington may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lexington there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your watercress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lexington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Lexington

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