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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant watercress in Dover by using 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 are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Dover 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dover the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Dover is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Dover you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your watercress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

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 Dover

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