One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant rock cress is to use the USDA zone info for Natchez.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

You can plant rock cress quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in Natchez 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rock cress may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your rock cress indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Natchez. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Natchez is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Natchez last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your rock cress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Natchez

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchez

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