One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress in Independence can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 much 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 Independence 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. Any later than that and your rock cress may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your rock cress indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Independence and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your rock cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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