When to plant Brussels Sprouts
Computed from land-grant Extension planting-window rules (cited below), localized to real ZIP-level median frost dates, not a single national guess. These are national-generic rules by hardiness class; individual state Extension offices layer their own regional adjustment on top (earlier in the Deep South, later in the Upper Midwest). Enter your ZIP for your own dates, or read the four representative locations below.
Planting windows and crop timing here are computed from USDA/NOAA climate data and the university extension sources cited below, not a site visit or soil test. Treat this as a starting point: local conditions vary, and a local nursery or extension office can advise on your exact site. See our full Disclaimer.
Representative timing, by climate band
When to plant Brussels Sprouts in four US climates
Each column is the most nursery-dense location in our directory within that USDA zone band, computed from that location's own real median frost dates, not a made-up example.
| Stage |
Zones 1-5 (cold winters)
Fort Plain, NY |
Zones 6-7 (temperate)
McMinnville, TN |
Zones 8-9 (warm)
Apopka, FL |
Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent)
Loxahatchee, FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start seed indoors | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Direct-sow outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Transplant outside | Mar 25–Apr 8 | Feb 24–Mar 10 | Jan 13–Jan 27 | – |
| Fall planting | Aug 11–Sep 8 | Sep 4–Oct 2 | Nov 3–Dec 1 | – |
| Expected harvest | May 4–May 28 | Apr 5–Apr 29 | Feb 22–Mar 18 | – |
Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent) (Loxahatchee, FL): Frost is rare here (about 359 frost-free days a year); most years see little or no hard freeze. This is a hardy crop. In climates like this one, hardy and semi-hardy crops typically go in during the cooler months (fall through late winter), not on a frost-relative schedule.
Brussels sprouts transplant four to six weeks before your last frost by Purdue Extension's hardy-crop rule (HO-186-W), the only figure held for the spring window since Colorado State's tables do not cover this crop. In practice, Virginia Cooperative Extension's zone-by-zone planting dates (Pub. 426-331) show spring planting listed as not recommended in every mid-Atlantic zone surveyed; brussels sprouts function there as a fall-only crop despite the nominal spring-hardy classification.
That fall planting runs four to eight weeks before your first fall frost, per Purdue's explicit list, which also carries a transplant-by-midsummer caveat alongside the general rule. NC State Extension's days-to-maturity figure for brussels sprouts, 40 to 50 days, reads unusually short for this crop; most general references put brussels sprouts closer to 90 to 100 days, and no other source in this table gives a brussels-specific number to check it against, so this page reports NC State's figure as published rather than substituting an unsourced correction.
No minimum soil temperature is held for brussels sprouts. In a cold-winter climate the fall planting is the more reliable route per Virginia's own zone data; in a mild-winter climate that fall window simply lands later, giving the crop more of the cool finish it needs before harvest.
Nurseries carry brussels sprouts as transplants for both the spring and fall windows, and as seed for anyone starting a fall crop from scratch in early-to-midsummer.
Frost hardiness
Hardy. Tolerates hard frost. Can go in the ground before the last frost date.
Days to maturity
40–50
Sourcing notes
Not covered by CSU. PURDUE's hardy window (4-6wk before frost) used. In practice VCE shows spring planting as "not recommended" in every mid-Atlantic zone surveyed - Brussels sprouts function as a fall-only crop there despite the nominal hardy/spring classification; noted rather than overridden, since PURDUE's own fall table also lists brussels sprouts with a "transplant by mid-summer" caveat alongside the general 4-8wk-before-first-frost rule. DTM (40-50 days, NCSU) reads unusually short for brussels sprouts, which most general references put closer to 90-100 days - flagged as a likely NCSU table anomaly rather than corrected/replaced, since no other source in this set gives a Brussels-specific DTM.
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
See everything with an open window this month →
Sources
- NC State Extension, Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs (AG-756-01) (accessed 2026-08-04)
- Purdue Extension (Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture), Indiana Vegetable Planting Calendar (HO-186-W) (accessed 2026-08-04)
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide (Pub. 426-331) (accessed 2026-08-04)