When to plant Snow Peas
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 Snow Peas 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 | Mar 25–Apr 8 | Feb 24–Mar 10 | Jan 13–Jan 27 | – |
| Transplant outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | May 18–Jun 19 | Apr 19–May 21 | Mar 8–Apr 9 | – |
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.
Snow peas go into the ground four to six weeks before your last frost, earlier than the general pea rule this page uses for garden peas. That figure follows Clemson Cooperative Extension's Chinese Vegetables factsheet, which gives snow peas an earlier planting window than ordinary garden peas; Colorado State University Extension's general hardy-pea rule, by comparison, calls for two to four weeks before frost (Fact Sheet 7.212). This page uses the earlier, snow-pea-specific window from Clemson rather than the more general pea rule, since Clemson names the crop directly.
No snow-pea-specific days-to-maturity figure was found in any source held for this crop; the 54-to-72-day range shown comes from NC State Extension's vining-pea figure, which covers edible-pod types generally rather than snow peas by name. Soil temperature, 40°F, is the general pea figure Colorado State and Purdue Extension both state, and both agree on it exactly.
Because Clemson's rule sets this crop's window a few weeks ahead of the general pea rule, a cold-winter climate is planting snow peas while real winter conditions may still be present; a mild-winter climate has an easier version of the same early window and can often follow it with less concern about seed rotting in cold, wet soil.
Snow peas are seed-only at the nursery. Look for them sold separately from garden or shelling peas, since the pod itself is the harvested part and the plant is bred for a different texture.
Frost hardiness
Hardy. Tolerates hard frost. Can go in the ground before the last frost date.
Minimum soil temperature
40°F
For direct sowing/germination, where an Extension source stated it.
Days to maturity
54–72
Sourcing notes
No source gives snow-pea-specific numbers separate from garden/English peas except Clemson's Chinese-vegetables factsheet, which states snow peas should go in "six to eight weeks before the last expected spring killing frost" - substantially earlier than the general hardy-pea rule (CSU: 2-4wk before). Used Clemson's more specific figure and flagged the disagreement; DTM taken from NCSU's vining-pea figure (covers edible-pod types) since no snow-pea-specific DTM was found. Soil temp taken from the general pea figure (CSU/PURDUE agree at 40F).
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
Sources
- Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center, Chinese Vegetables (accessed 2026-08-04)
- 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)