Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Crete you can estimate when it's the best time to plant purple rock cress by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Purple Rock Cress

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

Purple Rock Cress do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purple rock cress in Crete 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 purple rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purple rock cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your purple rock cress indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crete. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Crete is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Crete it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your purple rock cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Crete

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