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Monthly planting guide

What to plant in January

Computed from this directory's own crop-rules table and each zone band's real median frost dates or monthly temperatures, for the 15th of January. A single national list would be wrong for most readers: January means a different planting stage in a cold-winter zone than it does in a hot, frost-rare one. Every crop name below links to that crop's own sourced guide.

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.

Zones 1-5 (cold winters)

Fort Plain, NY · Zone 5b

Start indoors

Artichoke

Zones 6-7 (temperate)

McMinnville, TN · Zone 7b

Start indoors

Artichoke

Zones 8-9 (warm)

Apopka, FL · Zone 9b

Start indoors

Broccoli , Cabbage , Cauliflower , Marigold , Sweet Alyssum , Tomato

Direct-sow

Cilantro , Dill , Kale , Kohlrabi , Potato , Radish , Snow Peas , Sweet Alyssum

Transplant outside

Asparagus , Brussels Sprouts , Collards , Leek , Rhubarb

Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent)

Loxahatchee, FL · Zone 10b

Frost is rare or absent here; timing follows temperature, not frost dates.

Cool-season crops

Apple (bare-root fruit tree) , Apricot (bare-root fruit tree) , Asparagus , Bachelor's Button (Cornflower) , Bare-root rose , Beets , Blackberry , Blueberry , Bok Choy , Broccoli , Brussels Sprouts , Cabbage , Calendula , Carrots , Catnip/Catmint , Cauliflower , Celery , Cherry (sweet/tart, bare-root fruit tree) , Chives , Cilantro , Collards , Currant , Deciduous shade tree (generic, e.g. maple/oak, bare-root or B&B) , Dill , Elderberry , Evergreen shrub (B&B/potted, e.g. arborvitae, boxwood) , Fennel (Bulb/Florence) , Flowering deciduous shrub (generic, e.g. lilac/forsythia) , Garden Peas , Garlic , Gooseberry , Kale , Kohlrabi , Larkspur , Lavender , Leek , Lettuce , Mint , Mustard Greens , Nasturtium , Onion (bulb) , Oregano , Parsley , Parsnip , Peach (bare-root fruit tree) , Pear (bare-root fruit tree) , Petunia , Plum (bare-root fruit tree) , Potato , Radish , Raspberry , Rhubarb , Rutabaga , Sage , Snapdragon , Snow Peas , Spinach , Strawberry , Sweet Alyssum , Sweet Pea , Swiss Chard , Table/Bunch Grape , Tarragon , Thyme , Turnip

Warm-season crops

Artichoke , Arugula , Basil , Bell Pepper , Cantaloupe / Muskmelon , Cleome (Spider Flower) , Cosmos , Cucumber , Eggplant , Fig , Four O'Clock , Lemongrass , Lima Beans , Marigold , Marjoram , Morning Glory , Okra , Pole Beans , Pumpkin , Rosemary , Snap Beans (Bush) , Summer Squash , Sunflower , Sweet Corn , Sweet Potato , Tomato , Watermelon , Winter Squash (Butternut) , Zinnia , Zucchini

January sits deep in winter for the cold and temperate bands and close to spring for the warm band, three different points on the calendar at once, which is exactly why this page splits by zone band instead of giving one national answer.

The cold band's own last frost lands around May 6, roughly sixteen weeks out from the middle of January. Seed-starting indoors is the only real move this early; anything on the list above is a head start toward a transplant date that's still four months away, not a plant-now crop.

The temperate band's own last frost lands around April 7, about twelve weeks out. Indoor seed-starting is open here too, and opens on more crops than the cold band's list because this band's own last frost comes earlier.

The warm band's own last frost lands around February 24, still about six weeks off by mid-January. That's exactly the kind of head start hardy and semi-hardy crops plan for: several crops on the list above start seed indoors five to seven weeks before last frost or direct-sow two to four weeks before it, which is why this band's list is already active weeks ahead of its own frost date.

This band runs on monthly temperature, not a frost date. January's own average here is about 64.5°F (NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals), inside both this table's cool-season range, 50°F to 75°F, and its warm-season range, 60°F up to an 85°F ceiling this band's own data never reaches in any month. That overlap is why both lists above are full at once here.

Enter your ZIP for your own exact dates rather than these four representative bands.

Nurseries near these locations

Sources

Full per-crop citations are on each crop's own guide page, linked above. Institutions cited across this page: