Pepper planting dates by zone

Choosing a pepper

University of Minnesota Extension sorts peppers into sweet (banana, bell, cherry and pimiento) and hot (ancho, chili, habanero, jalapeño, hot banana and serrano), and says the heat is in the seeds and the whitish membrane. Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center adds that the heat is measured in Scoville units, from 2,500 to 8,000 for a jalapeño to an average of 1.64 million for the Carolina Reaper, bred in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

For short seasons Minnesota says to check the days to maturity, to look for peppers described as widely adapted and cold tolerant, and that smaller-fruited peppers tolerate both cool and hot weather better, so a few smaller sweet peppers give a more satisfying harvest than big bells alone. University of Illinois Extension says that in northern Illinois many sweet peppers never reach full maturity before frost.

For Florida, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions names the bells ‘California Wonder’, ‘Red Knight’ and ‘Big Bertha’, the sweet ‘Sweet Banana’ and ‘Giant Marconi’, and the jalapeños ‘Early Jalapeno’ and ‘Jalapeno M’. Clemson lists the bells ‘Capistrano’, ‘Jupiter’, ‘Plato’, ‘Antebellum’, ‘Valencia’ and ‘Vanguard’ and the cayennes ‘Carolina Cayenne’ and ‘Charleston Hot’ for South Carolina.

Starting seeds and planting out

Peppers start earlier and go out later than tomatoes. Minnesota starts the seed about eight weeks before planting outside, and the table counts 8 weeks back from each zone’s median last freeze, our crop table’s timing. Clemson sets out 6- to 8-week-old transplants, and UGA Cooperative Extension says to start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting, adding that most gardeners find it easier to buy transplants.

Minnesota sows one-fourth inch deep in a sterile, soilless mix on a heating mat, gives the seedlings bright overhead light and thins them to two to three inches apart. It pinches off any flower buds that form indoors until just before planting out, and hardens the plants off over a week or two.

The table sets plants out two weeks after the median last freeze, our crop table’s timing. Illinois says peppers cannot tolerate frost and grow poorly in cold, wet soil; on cool nights they grow slowly, the leaves may yellow and the flowers drop. Minnesota transplants in the late afternoon or on a cloudy, calm day, at the same depth they grew in the pot, and avoids spots where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants or tomatillos grew in the past three or four years.

Spacing, water and mulch

Minnesota spaces peppers 18 inches apart in rows 30 to 36 inches apart, and Illinois 18 to 24 inches apart in the row or 14 to 18 inches apart in beds. Clemson uses 12 inches in rows 3 feet apart, with pimentos at 18 to 24 inches, and UGA 12 to 24 inches.

Minnesota and Clemson both say an even supply of moisture gives the best fruit; Clemson calls fruit set and fruit development the critical period, and Illinois says hot, dry winds and dry soil may stop fruit set or make small fruit drop. Minnesota soaks the soil at least once a week if rain falls short of an inch, and keeps water off the leaves.

Minnesota says peppers benefit from black plastic mulch, which warms the soil, cuts weed competition and holds moisture. UGA mulches with compost, straw or wood chips, kept off the stems. Minnesota and Clemson both say too much nitrogen gives leafy plants with few flowers and fruit; UF/IFAS cuts the nitrogen once the plants begin to fruit.

Southern timing

Clemson’s planting table gives the South Carolina Piedmont May 1 to June 30 in spring, with no fall crop recommended, and the Coastal Plain April 1 to May 15 in spring and July 10 to August 10 for fall. Texas A&M AgriLife’s home vegetable gardening guide plants peppers 1 to 8 weeks after the frost-free date in spring and 12 to 16 weeks before the first freeze in fall, and gives 60 to 90 days to harvest.

UF/IFAS says Florida gardeners start seed indoors in late winter for planting after the last spring frost, and can start peppers again in midsummer for an early fall planting in August and September.

Harvest

Clemson and UGA say peppers are ready about 70 to 85 days after transplanting; UF/IFAS says 60 to 80 days, or 80 to 100 from seed. Bells can be picked green once they are full size with firm walls, or left to ripen to red, yellow or orange, which UF/IFAS says makes them sweeter.

Minnesota says you need not wait for color: jalapeños can be used green and Hungarian wax peppers yellow, and the plants keep flowering as you pick. Clemson and UGA cut the stems rather than pulling, because pepper branches are brittle. Minnesota and Illinois say to wear gloves to pick hot peppers and to keep your hands away from your eyes.

Common problems

Blossom-end rot shows on peppers as on tomatoes. Clemson says it reflects a calcium shortage within the plant, not necessarily in the soil, and that steady moisture is what lets the plant take calcium up; Illinois adds drought, uneven watering and roots cut by deep cultivation.

Minnesota says sunscald, flat tan patches, strikes fruit not shaded by enough leaves, and that hot days and hot nights make the flowers drop. Illinois says big, healthy plants that set no fruit usually reflect the weather, early cold or later hot, dry winds and warm nights, though too much nitrogen can contribute.

Clemson calls bacterial wilt and bacterial leaf spot the two most troublesome diseases in the home garden, and recommends certified disease-free seed and transplants, rotation and removing plant debris. Illinois says tobacco users should wash their hands before handling pepper plants, because tobacco mosaic virus spreads that way. Clemson names aphids, thrips and caterpillars such as corn earworm and armyworm as the common insects.

Common mistakes

• Planting out into cold soil. Illinois says peppers grow poorly in cold, wet soil and drop their flowers on cool nights.
• Pulling the fruit off. Clemson and UGA say the stems are brittle, so cut them.
• Letting the soil dry out during fruit set. Clemson calls it the critical period for moisture.
• Too much nitrogen. Minnesota says it gives bushy, leafy plants slow to bear.
• Only growing big bells in a short season. Minnesota says smaller-fruited peppers give a more satisfying harvest there.

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

Questions

When should I start pepper seeds indoors?

University of Minnesota Extension starts them about eight weeks before planting outside, earlier than tomatoes; UGA Cooperative Extension says 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting. The table on this page counts 8 weeks back from each zone’s median last freeze in NOAA records.

Why are my pepper plants not producing?

University of Illinois Extension says the usual cause is the weather: cold early in the season, and later hot, dry winds and warm nights. Too much nitrogen can also give large, leafy plants with few fruit, Minnesota and Clemson say.

How long do peppers take to grow?

Clemson and UGA say about 70 to 85 days from transplanting; UF/IFAS says 60 to 80 days, or 80 to 100 from seed. Clemson says to expect 100 to 120 days from seed.

Can I pick bell peppers green?

Yes. Clemson and UGA say bells can be harvested green once they are full size with firm walls, or left on the plant to ripen to red, yellow or orange, which UF/IFAS says makes them sweeter.

Can I plant peppers for a fall crop?

In the South, yes: Clemson gives the South Carolina Coastal Plain July 10 to August 10, Texas A&M AgriLife plants 12 to 16 weeks before the first freeze, and UF/IFAS plants in August and September in Florida.

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 peppers , by Marissa Schuh and Cindy Tong (Reviewed 2026). Written for: Minnesota (USDA zones 3a–5a).
• University of Illinois Extension, Peppers (Home Vegetable Gardening) . Written for: Illinois (USDA zones 5a–7a).
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Pepper (HGIC 1316) (Updated January 24, 2023). Written for: South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b).
• UGA Cooperative Extension, Home Garden Peppers (Circular 1005) , by Bob Westerfield (August 19, 2026). Written for: Georgia (USDA zones 7b–9a).
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Peppers (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