How to Grow Cress
Cress At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Herb
Sun Exposure
Partial Sun, Partial Shade
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -7°C
Plant Family
Brassicaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Cress handles cold, so start sowing about 2 weeks before your last spring frost. Scatter the seeds thickly over damp soil and barely cover them, no more than 0.5 cm deep. They sprout in 2 to 7 days, and a fresh pinch every week keeps the peppery leaves coming.
Garden cress is one of the fastest things you can grow, ready to cut about 10 days after sowing. It loves cool weather and bolts (rushes to flower and turns hot and bitter) quickly in summer heat, so grow it outside in spring and fall, and on a windowsill in summer and winter.
When To Start
First chance to plant
30 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
30 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Cress?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Cress Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Cress Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow a patch of cress now, then a pinch every week
2 weeks before your last frost· every year
Snip cress when the shoots are 5 to 8 cm tall
1 week after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your cress seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Time to thin the cress seedlings: snip the extras at soil level so each one has room to grow.
About 17 days after you plant it
How is your cress doing? Keep the soil moist, since cress grows fast and dries out quickly.
About 10 days after you plant it
Your cress should be ready to cut. Snip it with scissors, and sow a new patch for next week.
About 14 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your cress.
About 10 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Cress's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 2–7 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow cress in sun in cool weather, and in part shade once summer heats up.
- 2Sow it into fine, crumbly soil with a little compost mixed in.
- 3Keep the surface moist with a light watering every day or two, since cress turns tough and hot when it dries out.
- 4It grows so fast that it needs no extra feeding.
- 5Cover the patch with row cover to keep out flea beetles, which chew tiny holes in the leaves.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~10
Days to Maturity
15 cm
Mature Height
10 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
21 days
When to Pick
Cut leaves before flowering
How to Harvest
- 1Cress is ready about 10 to 14 days after sowing, when the shoots are 5 to 8 cm tall.
- 2Snip them with scissors just above the soil.
- 3Cut it young, before flower buds appear, since older plants turn bitter.
- 4It sometimes regrows for a second, smaller cut, but a fresh sowing every week works best.
- 5Eat it fresh on sandwiches, eggs and salads, or keep it in a bag in the fridge for a few days.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Garden cress mostly pollinates itself, so its seeds grow true, and it does not cross with watercress. Leave a few plants to grow tall and flower, then let the small seed pods turn tan and dry. Cut the stems into a paper bag, crush the pods and pick out the tiny seeds. Store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place, where they keep about 5 years.
Seed Production
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