Cauliflower planting dates by zone

The fussiest of the cabbage family

Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Home & Garden Information Center calls cauliflower the most sensitive of the cole crops to adverse conditions, and says it should never be stressed for water or fertilizer. University of Illinois Extension calls it more difficult to grow than its cabbage-family relatives and more sensitive to cold, and says the start has to be early enough to mature before summer heat but not so early that cold injures it; in some seasons, it says, that compromise may be almost impossible.

Fall is often the better season. University of Minnesota Extension says some varieties suit spring, growing quickly to make heads before hot weather, but most types are best as a midsummer planting for fall harvest, and that from Duluth north cauliflower grows well all summer.

The reason is the head, which the sources call the curd. Minnesota says dense, flavorful curds grow in cool weather and that hot days and nights can stop a plant forming a head at all. Illinois says any interruption to growth, from cold, heat, drought or damage, can abort the head, leaving a large plant with nothing to harvest.

Starting seeds and planting out

Our crop table has no cauliflower row, so this page’s spring dates follow Utah State University Extension, which sows transplants 6 to 7 weeks before the planting date and sets them out 1 to 2 weeks before the last frost-free date. The table counts both from each zone’s median last spring freeze. Illinois says not to transplant sooner than 2 to 3 weeks before the frost-free date; Minnesota starts spring seed in early to mid-April.

Start strong plants and keep them growing. Illinois says to grow transplants that never stop growing before they go out, and never to buy stunted plants held too long in flats. Utah State says shock at planting, from dry soil, cold or low nitrogen, makes plants button, forming small heads too early, and that larger, older transplants button more often.

Minnesota sows one-fourth to one-half inch deep in a sterile mix with no bottom heat, puts bright grow lights over the seedlings once they emerge, and starts hardening them off at four or five true leaves, about four weeks in. It covers new plants with a row cover for the first weeks, a cold-protecting one in spring and a lightweight one in summer.

Clemson grows spring transplants in six to eight weeks and fall ones in five to six, and says to give spring plants enough cold to harden them off but protect them from freezing; cole crops can bolt after a long cold spell following good growth, more often the larger the plants.

Spacing, water and feeding

Minnesota sets plants 18 inches apart, Illinois 18 to 24 inches, and Clemson 18 inches in rows 3 feet apart; Utah State gives 12 to 18 inches in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. Clemson keeps the soil pH at 5.8 to 6.5 and Minnesota at 6 to 7.

Water steadily. Minnesota soaks the soil at least once a week without an inch of rain and says water stress gives poor texture and strong off flavors; Utah State gives 1 to 2 inches a week, deep and infrequent. Clemson calls cauliflower a heavy feeder and side-dresses three to four weeks after transplanting; Illinois side-dresses when the plants are half grown.

Rotate. Minnesota grows cauliflower where cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard, turnip or rutabaga have not grown for the past four years.

Planting for fall

Minnesota starts fall seed indoors or sows direct in early to late July, three seeds every 18 inches, thinned to one. Illinois transplants fall cauliflower about the same time as fall cabbage, around mid to late July, and says late plantings often struggle to establish in hot, dry weather, so water them well and do not crowd them.

Utah State picks early maturing cultivars for fall and plants 50 to 75 days before the expected harvest, which it times for one to two weeks after the first fall frost. Texas A&M AgriLife plants fall cauliflower 10 to 16 weeks before the first freeze. The table’s last fall planting uses the late end of the Texas rule, 70 days before each zone’s median first fall freeze; Minnesota says the colder fall weather helps a late crop hold its quality in the garden.

Blanching and harvest

White cauliflower is blanched. Illinois ties the outer leaves over the head once it shows 2 to 3 inches of white curd, to keep it from sunburn, greening and off flavor; UF/IFAS blanches at about three inches across, pulling the longest leaves over the head and securing them with soft twine, raffia, tape or rubber bands. Self-blanching varieties curl their own leaves over the head, Clemson and Illinois say, especially in cool fall weather.

Do not tie colored types. Minnesota says orange, green, purple and Romanesco cauliflower need sun on the head to develop their color.

Illinois says the head grows 6 to 8 inches across and is ready 7 to 12 days after blanching begins; Utah State harvests at 6 to 12 inches, compact and white. Cut before the curds separate, Clemson says, about 60 to 70 days after transplanting, leaving a ruffle of leaves around the head. Illinois says quality falls fast once individual florets show, and that cauliflower does not usually make side shoots, so the plants can be composted after harvest.

Southern timing

Clemson’s transplanting table gives the South Carolina Piedmont March 20 to April 30 in spring and July 15 to August 31 in fall, and the Coastal Plain March 1 to April 10 and August 15 to 30. It names ‘Amazing’, ‘Snow Crown’ and ‘Milky Way’.

UF/IFAS plants cauliflower in North Florida between late August and January, and from September through January in Central and South Florida, and calls transplants the most foolproof start. Texas A&M AgriLife does not recommend spring cauliflower in Texas; it plants for fall 10 to 16 weeks before the first freeze and gives 70 to 90 days to harvest.

Common problems

Small early heads are buttoning. Utah State and UF/IFAS say plants button after cold, drought or a shortage of nutrients early on. Loose, leafy or separated heads come from heat: Illinois says they appear when cauliflower matures in hot weather, and Utah State that water stress and high temperatures push leaves up through the head.

Clemson calls hollow stem the most common problem on cauliflower, linked to low soil pH and helped by proper spacing and boron, and says tip burn and internal browning follow poor pH, watering or the balance between nitrogen and calcium. Minnesota says a lack of boron browns the florets.

For insects, Clemson names imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth larvae, corn earworm and cabbage aphids, and says flea beetles can badly damage seedlings; Minnesota adds cabbage maggots and the swede midge, which can leave a plant with no head. Clemson says black rot is the serious disease, and Minnesota names Alternaria and clubroot.

Common mistakes

• Letting growth stall. Illinois says any check, from cold, heat, drought or damage, can abort the head.
• Buying old, stunted transplants. Illinois says results with them are almost always disappointing.
• Setting plants out too early. Illinois says no sooner than 2 to 3 weeks before the frost-free date.
• Tying the leaves over a colored variety. Minnesota says those heads need sun to color.
• Waiting too long to cut. Illinois says quality falls fast once single florets show.
• Planting where cabbage-family crops grew recently. Minnesota waits four years.

We found no cauliflower 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 cauliflower in spring?

Utah State University Extension sets transplants out 1 to 2 weeks before the last frost-free date, and Illinois says no sooner than 2 to 3 weeks before. The table on this page counts both from each zone’s median last spring freeze, from NOAA records.

Is cauliflower better planted in spring or fall?

Often fall. University of Minnesota Extension says most types are best as a midsummer planting for fall harvest, and Texas A&M AgriLife does not recommend spring cauliflower in Texas.

Do I have to blanch cauliflower?

White types, yes, unless they are self-blanching. Illinois ties the outer leaves over the head when it shows 2 to 3 inches of curd. Minnesota says not to tie orange, green, purple or Romanesco types.

Why are my cauliflower heads so small?

Utah State calls it buttoning, and says it follows cold, dry soil or a shortage of nutrients soon after planting; larger, older transplants button more often.

Does cauliflower grow back after harvest?

No. Illinois says cauliflower does not ordinarily make side shoots, so the plants can be composted once the head is cut.

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 cauliflower in home gardens , by Marissa Schuh and Jill MacKenzie (Reviewed 2022). Written for: Minnesota (USDA zones 3a–5a).
• University of Illinois Extension, Cauliflower (Home Vegetable Gardening) . Written for: Illinois (USDA zones 5a–7a).
• Utah State University Extension, How to Grow Cauliflower in Your Garden , by Dan Drost and Michael Johnson (Published March 2020). Written for: Utah (USDA zones 4a, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b).
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Cauliflower (HGIC 1326) (Updated February 3, 2023). Written for: South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b).
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Cauliflower (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 29, 2026