The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant watercress in New Bern can be figured out by referring to 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 mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in New Bern 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. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Bern the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Bern is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Bern you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in New Bern

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bern.