Skip to content
PlantNurseryHQ

← All guides

Monthly planting guide

What to plant in September

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 September. A single national list would be wrong for most readers: September 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

Direct-sow

Basil

Zones 6-7 (temperate)

McMinnville, TN · Zone 7b

Fall planting

Beets , Broccoli , Brussels Sprouts , Cabbage , Collards , Kale , Kohlrabi , Mustard Greens , Radish , Spinach , Turnip

Zones 8-9 (warm)

Apopka, FL · Zone 9b

Nothing in our crop table has an open window here in September.

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

Loxahatchee, FL · Zone 10b

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

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

September means three different things at once on this page: the tail end of fall planting in the cold band, the peak of it in the temperate band, and still deep summer in the warm band. A single national answer would be wrong for most readers most of the time, which is the reason this page splits by zone band.

About three weeks out from the cold band's own first fall frost of October 6, near the tail end of the four-to-eight-week fall-planting window rather than its start. A fall crop not yet planted in this band by early September is closer to a last chance than a comfortable start.

About six weeks out from the temperate band's own first fall frost of October 30, squarely inside the four-to-eight-week fall-planting window (Purdue Extension, HO-186-W). This is the real planting month for fall greens here, not the tail end of it.

About fifteen weeks out from the warm band's own first fall frost of December 29, still well ahead of that same window; the list above stays quiet here too.

September's own average in the hot band is about 81.5°F (NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals), still inside the warm-season range and short of the 85°F ceiling.

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: