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

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant rock cress is to consult the USDA zone info for Franklin.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Since rock cress are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in Franklin 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 fully mature. If you are starting your rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Franklin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Franklin and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rock cress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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