🥦 When to Plant Cauliflower

The fussiest brassica — and worth it. Pick your zone below for exact dates, or read the quick reference.

Season type
Cool-season
half-hardy
Spacing
18″ / 30″
plants / rows
Days to maturity
60–80
from transplant

Cauliflower wants steady, uninterrupted growth: any stress from heat, cold, or drought shows up in the curd. Fall crops are more forgiving than spring in most regions. Tie leaves over white varieties to blanch.

Cauliflower planting windows by zone

ZoneMain planting window
Zone 1 Jun 1 – Jun 15 transplant outdoors
Zone 2 May 16 – May 30 transplant outdoors
Zone 3 May 1 – May 15 transplant outdoors
Zone 4 Apr 21 – May 5 transplant outdoors
Zone 5 Apr 8 – Apr 22 transplant outdoors
Zone 6 Mar 27 – Apr 10 transplant outdoors
Zone 7 Mar 16 – Mar 30 transplant outdoors
Zone 8 Mar 1 – Mar 15 transplant outdoors
Zone 9 Feb 6 – Feb 20 transplant outdoors
Zone 10 Jan 11 – Jan 25 transplant outdoors
Zone 11 Coolest months (Oct–Mar) frost-free
Zone 12 Coolest months (Oct–Mar) frost-free
Zone 13 Coolest months (Oct–Mar) frost-free

Each zone link above has the complete schedule — indoor seed-starting, fall planting, and season-fit notes. Zone dates are typical medians; for windows built on your own city's frost dates, use the frost date lookup and planting calendar.