When to plant Celery
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 Celery 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 | Apr 8–Apr 22 | Mar 10–Mar 24 | Jan 27–Feb 10 | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | May 18–Jul 1 | Apr 19–Jun 2 | Mar 8–Apr 21 | – |
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 semi 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.
Celery transplants two to four weeks before your last frost, per Purdue Extension's Indiana Vegetable Planting Calendar (HO-186-W), which classifies celery semi-hardy and gives both that window and a 40°F minimum soil temperature. Colorado State University Extension's tables place celery in a different tier entirely, tender rather than semi-hardy, which would put transplanting closer to the frost date itself, but Colorado State gives no crop-specific numbers for celery to check that classification against.
This page uses Purdue's semi-hardy label and its numbers, since Purdue is the only one of the three sources held for celery with an actual figure attached, and states Colorado State's differing tier placement here rather than silently picking one. Days to maturity run 40 to 70, from NC State Extension (AG-756-01), a wide enough range that it likely spans different celery types or harvest stages rather than one single crop behavior.
Because the two sources disagree on how cold-tolerant celery actually is, treat Purdue's two-to-four-week window as the more cautious of the two readings: in a cold-winter climate, waiting toward the later end of that window is the safer bet, and in a mild-winter climate celery can run closer to a full cool-season crop regardless of which tier applies.
Celery is slow enough from seed that nurseries typically carry it as a transplant rather than as seed for a home gardener to start from scratch, timed to the two-to-four-week window above.
Frost hardiness
Semi-hardy. Tolerates light frost. Best planted close to the last frost date.
Minimum soil temperature
40°F
For direct sowing/germination, where an Extension source stated it.
Days to maturity
40–70
Sourcing notes
Real disagreement: CSU places celery in its Tender tier (~at-frost rule) but gave no crop-specific numbers; PURDUE places it semi-hardy with an explicit 2-4wk-before-frost rule and a Table 3 min soil temp of 40F. Used PURDUE's semi_hardy label and numbers since it's the only source with actual figures for celery, flagged CSU's differing (tender) category placement. DTM (40-70 days) from NCSU.
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
Sources
- Colorado State University Extension, Vegetable Planting Guide (Fact Sheet 7.212) (accessed 2026-08-04)
- 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)