When to plant Lettuce
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 Lettuce 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 | Apr 8–Apr 22 | Mar 10–Mar 24 | Jan 27–Feb 10 | – |
| Transplant outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | May 23–Jul 11 | Apr 24–Jun 12 | Mar 13–May 1 | – |
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.
Lettuce goes into the ground two to four weeks before your last frost. Colorado State University Extension places lettuce in its hardy tier with that exact window (Fact Sheet 7.212); Purdue Extension (HO-186-W) calls the same window semi-hardy instead. The tier name differs between the two sources, but the actual week count, two to four weeks before frost, does not conflict, so this page states the shared number without needing to publish two separate ranges.
Soil should read 35°F at seeding or transplanting; Colorado State and Purdue's soil-temperature tables agree on that figure exactly, one of the lowest minimums on this page and consistent with how cold-tolerant lettuce actually is. Days to maturity run 45 to 80 on this page, covering head and full-size leaf lettuce: Colorado State's 60 days is for leaf lettuce, NC State's 45 to 60 is for transplanted head lettuce, and Missouri Extension's range runs up to 80. NC State's faster 15-to-25-day figure describes an early, immature leaf-lettuce cut rather than a full-size harvest, and sits below the range shown here rather than inside it.
Because lettuce is hardy and tolerates a 35°F soil floor, a cold-winter climate can direct-seed or transplant it two to four weeks before frost with little risk; a mild-winter climate can grow lettuce through most of the cooler months rather than around a single frost date.
Nurseries carry lettuce as both seed and transplants, seed for a quick leaf-lettuce harvest, transplants for a faster start on head lettuce, which takes longer to mature from seed alone.
Frost hardiness
Hardy. Tolerates hard frost. Can go in the ground before the last frost date.
Minimum soil temperature
35°F
For direct sowing/germination, where an Extension source stated it.
Days to maturity
45–80
Sourcing notes
From direct seed or transplant (convention varies; MOEXT/NCSU give both leaf and head types). CSU places lettuce in its Hardy tier (2-4wk before frost); PURDUE's semi-hardy tier uses the identical 2-4wk-before window under a different tier label, so despite the differing tier NAME the sourced week-count does not actually conflict - used -4,-2 with no numeric flag needed. DTM: CSU 60 (leaf), NCSU 45-60/15-25 (transplant, head/leaf), MOEXT 35-80 - combined range reported for leaf+head types together. CSU soil temp 35F; PURDUE Table 3 also gives lettuce min 35F - agree.
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)
- University of Missouri Extension, Vegetable Planting Calendar (G6201) (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)
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide (Pub. 426-331) (accessed 2026-08-04)