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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Winchester you should be able to determine when you can plant watercress.

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 tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Winchester 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. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Winchester. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Winchester is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Winchester you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your watercress if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winchester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Winchester

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