When to plant Rosemary
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 Rosemary 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 | 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.
Rosemary is a tender perennial grown as an annual across most of this site's range. Colorado State University Extension says so directly for Colorado (CMG GardenNotes #731), rating it hardy only in USDA zones 7 through 11, and Clemson Cooperative Extension's fall-herbs guide agrees, narrowing hardiness to zones 8a through 10b. Outside those zones, set plants out only after the last frost danger has passed, and expect to replace them the following spring.
Rosemary is propagated from cuttings, not typically from seed, per Colorado State, which is also why no source here gives a seed-based days-to-maturity figure. At the nursery, buy it as a potted plant.
In zones 7 through 11, rosemary can be treated as the true perennial it is and left in the ground year to year.
Frost hardiness
Tender. Damaged or killed by frost. Plant after the last frost date.
Sourcing notes
CSU: rosemary is a 'tender perennial grown as an annual in Colorado' (hardy zones 7-11); Clemson fall-herbs page: hardy only zones 8a-10b, i.e. frost-tender/annual treatment through most of the US. Set out only after last frost danger passes; propagated by cuttings, not typically seed (CSU). No sourced DTM -- usually grown from nursery starts.
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)