When to Plant Watercress in Zone 11a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 11a can be used to figure out when it's the best time to 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 do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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 Zone 11a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 Zone 11a it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 11a is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 11a you do not have to be ready to protect your watercress in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 11a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)Never
Lowest Expected Low40°F
Highest Expected Low45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 11a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 11a.