🥬 When to Plant Lettuce

Fast, shade-tolerant, and perfect for succession sowing. Pick your zone below for exact dates, or read the quick reference.

Season type
Cool-season
half-hardy
Spacing
10″ / 12″
plants / rows
Days to maturity
45–60
from sowing

Sow a short row every 2 weeks instead of one big planting — lettuce bolts quickly once heat arrives. Afternoon shade extends the spring season, and fall crops are often the sweetest.

Lettuce planting windows by zone

ZoneMain planting window
Zone 1 May 18 – Jun 1 transplant outdoors
Zone 2 May 2 – May 16 transplant outdoors
Zone 3 Apr 17 – May 1 transplant outdoors
Zone 4 Apr 7 – Apr 21 transplant outdoors
Zone 5 Mar 25 – Apr 8 transplant outdoors
Zone 6 Mar 13 – Mar 27 transplant outdoors
Zone 7 Mar 2 – Mar 16 transplant outdoors
Zone 8 Feb 15 – Mar 1 transplant outdoors
Zone 9 Jan 23 – Feb 6 transplant outdoors
Zone 10 Dec 28 – Jan 11 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, direct sowing, 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.