Broccoli planting dates by zone

Spring crop or fall crop

University of Illinois Extension says broccoli develops best in the cool seasons and two crops, spring and fall, can be grown in most of the country. University of Minnesota Extension says most broccoli grows best as a mid-summer planting for fall harvest, because summer heat harms the developing head, though heat while the leafy plant grows is fine; from Duluth north, it says, gardeners can grow it all summer.

In the South fall is the main season. Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center says broccoli is best grown in South Carolina in the fall, and that spring temperature swings can give uneven heads and loose buds, which are still fine to eat. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions grows it in Florida in fall and winter.

Pick a variety for the season. Minnesota chooses heat-tolerant varieties with a short cycle of 50 to 60 days for spring and longer ones of 60 to 85 days for fall, so the heads form in cooler weather. Clemson names ‘Packman’ (50 days from transplanting) as early, ‘Emerald Crown’ (60) as mid-season, and ‘Lieutenant’, ‘Belstar’ and the slow-bolting ‘Green Magic’ as full-season.

Starting seeds and planting out

Illinois recommends transplants in spring, because they establish quickly and crop before the heat of early summer. The table dates indoor sowing 6 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze and setting out 2 weeks before it, the offsets our seed-starting tool uses. Minnesota starts spring seed indoors in early to mid-April; Clemson says transplants take about six to eight weeks to grow in spring and five to six in fall.

Minnesota sows one-fourth to one-half inch deep in a sterile, soilless mix, uses no bottom heat, and turns on bright grow lights as soon as the seedlings emerge. It feeds them once the first true leaf appears, reduces watering at four or five true leaves, and hardens them off over a week. Illinois warns that plants left too long in seed flats may make small button heads soon after planting.

Clemson says to give spring transplants enough cold to harden them off but protect them from freezing temperatures, and says a prolonged cold spell after planting can make cole crops bolt; the larger the plants, the more likely it is.

Minnesota covers new plants with a row cover against wind and insects for the first weeks, a cold-protecting one in spring and a lightweight one in summer, anchored firmly so it cannot flap.

Spacing and soil

Clemson plants 1½ to 2 feet apart in rows 3 feet apart, and Illinois 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart, or a foot apart each way in beds. Minnesota sets plants eight to 10 inches apart at the same depth they grew in the pot; Illinois sets them slightly deeper.

Rotate. Minnesota grows broccoli where cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard, turnip or rutabaga have not grown for the past four years. Clemson keeps the soil pH between 5.8 and 6.5 and Minnesota between 6 and 7; UF/IFAS aims for 6.2 to 6.5.

Feed and water steadily. Clemson calls broccoli a heavy feeder and side-dresses three to four weeks after transplanting; Illinois side-dresses when the plants are half grown. Minnesota says plants under water stress make small, off-flavored heads, and soaks the soil at least once a week without an inch of rain; UF/IFAS gives one to two inches of water a week.

Planting for fall

Minnesota starts fall broccoli indoors or out in early to late July, sowing direct three seeds every eight to 10 inches and thinning to one. Illinois counts back from the first fall frost the days to harvest from transplanting plus about 10, and starts the seedlings in midsummer to set out in late summer.

The table’s last fall planting counts back 46 days from each zone’s median first fall freeze: our crop table’s 60 days from transplant to harvest less the 14 days of light frost it takes. Minnesota says broccoli keeps growing after the first light frosts in fall.

Southern timing

Clemson’s transplanting table gives the South Carolina Piedmont March 20 to April 30 in spring and August 15 to September 15 in fall, and the Coastal Plain March 1 to April 10 and September 1 to 30.

UF/IFAS sets transplants out in South Florida from October through December and in North and Central Florida from mid-September through mid-February, and says not to plant too late, because rising temperatures make the heads flower. Texas A&M AgriLife’s home vegetable gardening guide plants broccoli 4 to 6 weeks before the frost-free date in spring and 10 to 16 weeks before the first freeze in fall.

Harvest

Clemson says broccoli is ready 50 to 90 days after transplanting, depending on the variety, and cuts the main head at 3 to 6 inches across while the buds are still tightly closed, about 6 inches down the stem. Illinois cuts with 5 to 6 inches of stem before the head loosens or shows yellow flowers, and says central heads reach 4 to 6 inches or more.

Side shoots follow. Minnesota and Illinois say smaller heads grow from the leaf joints once the central head is cut, and Illinois says you can usually keep harvesting for several weeks. Minnesota harvests promptly once the head is mature, because it does not keep its quality on the plant.

Common problems

Cabbage worms come first. Illinois describes three: imported cabbageworms, cabbage loopers and diamondback moth larvae, which eat holes in leaves and heads and are worse in fall plantings; Clemson says to control them before the heads start to develop. Minnesota adds flea beetles on seedlings, cabbage maggots on the roots, and the swede midge, which can leave a plant with no crown.

Heads that flower early or stay small come from heat or stress. Illinois says yellow flowers can appear before the heads are ready in hot weather, and blames late spring planting, chilled young plants and old transplants; Minnesota says hot days and nights can stop a plant forming a crown at all. Clemson says hollow stems come from excess nitrogen, warm weather, too much water or low pH, or, with brown decay inside, a lack of boron.

For disease, Clemson calls black rot the most severe on broccoli in South Carolina, worst in long wet spells without rotation, and Minnesota names Alternaria, black rot and clubroot.

Common mistakes

• Planting spring broccoli too late. Illinois says heat brings yellow flowers before the head is ready.
• Old, overgrown transplants. Illinois says they make small button heads.
• Planting where cabbage-family crops grew recently. Minnesota waits four years.
• Uneven watering. Minnesota says water stress gives small, off-flavored heads.
• Waiting too long to cut. Minnesota says a mature head does not keep its quality on the plant.
• Pulling the plant after the main head. Minnesota and Illinois say side shoots follow.

We found no broccoli source for Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi that we read for this page. The Southern timing here is Clemson’s, UF/IFAS’s and Texas A&M AgriLife’s.

Questions

When should I plant broccoli in spring?

University of Illinois Extension sets out transplants in early spring. The table on this page dates indoor sowing 6 weeks and setting out 2 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze, from NOAA records.

Is broccoli better as a fall crop?

Often. Minnesota says most broccoli grows best as a mid-summer planting for fall harvest, and Clemson says it is best grown in South Carolina in the fall. UF/IFAS grows it in Florida in fall and winter.

Why is my broccoli flowering before it makes a head?

Illinois says yellow flowers can appear before the head is ready in hot weather, and blames late planting, chilled young plants and transplants held too long. Clemson says a prolonged cold spell can also make cole crops bolt.

Does broccoli grow back after you cut it?

Yes, as side shoots. Minnesota and Illinois say smaller heads grow from the leaf joints after the central head is cut, and Illinois says you can often keep picking for several weeks.

How big should a broccoli head be before cutting?

Clemson cuts the main head at 3 to 6 inches across while the buds are tightly closed; Illinois says central heads reach 4 to 6 inches or more, and to cut before any yellow flowers show.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The planting rules are named beside the table. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

• University of Minnesota Extension, Growing broccoli in home gardens , by Marissa Schuh and Jill MacKenzie (Reviewed 2026). Written for: Minnesota (USDA zones 3a–5a).
• University of Illinois Extension, Broccoli (Home Vegetable Gardening) . Written for: Illinois (USDA zones 5a–7a).
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Broccoli (HGIC 1301) (Updated January 20, 2023). Written for: South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b).
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Broccoli (Accessed October 2026). Written for: Florida (USDA zones 8b–11b).
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide (EHT-077) , by Joseph Masabni (June 2014). Written for: Texas (USDA zones 6b–10b).

How we write our guides

Published October 27, 2026