When to Plant Purple Rock Cress in Zone 2b

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for Zone 2b should be looked at to figure out when it's the best time to plant purple rock cress.


Planting Calendar for Purple Rock Cress

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

Purple Rock Cress tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant purple rock cress
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant purple rock cress
Probably not a good time to plant purple rock cress

The earliest that you can plant purple rock cress in Zone 2b is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purple rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your purple rock cress may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your purple rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 2b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -45°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 2b is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 2b there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your purple rock cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-45°F
Highest Expected Low-40°F

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

Plants to Grow in Zone 2b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2b.