When to plant Marjoram
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 Marjoram 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 | Mar 11–Mar 25 | Feb 10–Feb 24 | Dec 30–Jan 13 | – |
| Direct-sow outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Transplant outside | May 6–May 20 | Apr 7–Apr 21 | Feb 24–Mar 10 | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
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 tender crop. In climates like this one, tender and very-tender crops typically go in before the hottest months arrive, not on a frost-relative schedule.
Sweet marjoram is a tender perennial, hardy only in USDA zones 9 and 10 per Colorado State University Extension's Herb Gardening guide (CMG GardenNotes #731); everywhere else, it's grown as an annual, or overwintered indoors as a houseplant. Clemson Cooperative Extension's Herbs factsheet (HGIC 1311) gives the timing: start seed indoors six to eight weeks before planting, or set transplants out after the last killing frost.
Clemson's separate fall-herbs guide confirms the tender read directly, noting marjoram "often dies off after the first frost in colder areas." Outside zones 9-10, plan on replanting each spring rather than expecting it back.
No source gives a seed-to-harvest day count for marjoram, so that field is blank here. It's commonly sold as a small nursery transplant, which sidesteps the six-to-eight-week indoor head start seed would require.
Frost hardiness
Tender. Damaged or killed by frost. Plant after the last frost date.
Sourcing notes
Sweet marjoram is a tender perennial (hardy only zones 9-10 per CSU) grown as an annual/houseplant elsewhere. Clemson: 'Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before planting or set transplants out after the last killing frost.' Clemson's fall-herbs page: marjoram 'often dies off after the first frost in colder areas,' confirming frost-tender treatment. No sourced DTM.
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
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Sources
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, How to Grow Fall Herbs in South Carolina (accessed 2026-08-04)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Herbs (HGIC 1311) (accessed 2026-08-04)
- Colorado State University Extension, Colorado Master Gardener Program, Herb Gardening (CMG GardenNotes #731) (accessed 2026-08-04)