When to Plant Watercress in Hampton, VA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant watercress in Hampton by looking at 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.

Since watercress are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant watercress
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant watercress
Probably not a good time to plant watercress

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Hampton 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

In Hampton the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Hampton is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hampton you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hampton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Hampton

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