When to plant Pumpkin
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 Pumpkin 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 | May 20–Jun 3 | Apr 21–May 5 | Mar 10–Mar 24 | – |
| Transplant outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | Aug 28–Oct 1 | Jul 30–Sep 2 | Jun 18–Jul 22 | – |
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 very 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.
Pumpkin goes into the ground two to four weeks after your last frost, direct-seeded rather than transplanted in every source held for this crop. Colorado State University Extension classifies pumpkin very tender (Fact Sheet 7.212), but its own table gives no pumpkin-specific days-to-maturity or soil-temperature figure; those come from Purdue Extension's soil-temperature table (60°F, HO-186-W) and from NC State and Missouri Extension's days-to-maturity figures instead.
Days to maturity run 100 to 120, and NC State and Missouri Extension agree closely on that range. Virginia, NC State, and Missouri Extension's actual calendar planting dates for pumpkin run later than the nominal two-to-four-week-after-frost rule alone would suggest, mid-May through July depending on zone, because pumpkin timing is driven more by working backward from a desired fall harvest date than by frost avoidance on its own. That pattern is noted here rather than turned into a second numeric rule the sources do not state directly.
In a cold-winter climate, that means seeding pumpkin later than the bare frost-plus-weeks rule implies, closer to early summer, so it matures near the fall date you actually want; a mild-winter climate has more calendar room and can time pumpkin planting around the desired harvest date with less pressure from the frost rule itself.
Pumpkin is a direct-seed crop at the nursery, sold as seed rather than as transplants, since a vining crop of this size establishes better direct-sown once soil hits 60°F.
Frost hardiness
Very tender. Killed by even light frost or cold soil. Plant well after the last frost date, once soil has warmed.
Minimum soil temperature
60°F
For direct sowing/germination, where an Extension source stated it.
Days to maturity
100–120
Sourcing notes
CSU categorizes pumpkin as very_tender but its own table did not give crop-specific DTM/soil-temp numbers for pumpkin; those came from PURDUE (soil temp) and NCSU/MOEXT (DTM, which agree closely: 110-120 days from direct seed). Typically direct-seeded, not transplanted. VCE/NCSU/MOEXT calendar dates for pumpkin run later (mid-May-July) than the nominal 2-4wk-after-frost rule, reflecting that pumpkin timing is driven by desired fall harvest date more than frost avoidance alone - noted, not encoded numerically.
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
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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)