December planting calendar
winterWhat to plant in December
The deepest dormant month. Indoor plants, planning, and dormant maintenance dominate zones 3-7. Zones 8-10 keep harvesting cool-season crops and citrus.
Universal December tasks
These tasks apply to most temperate gardens across the US and UK in December. Check the per-zone sections below for the specific crops to plant in your zone.
- Review this year's garden journal — what worked, what didn't, what to change.
- Start your seed list for next year while pleasure and pain are fresh.
- Check stored crops weekly for rot — winter squash, onions, garlic, potatoes.
- Force amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs for indoor color.
- Tend houseplants — many slow-grow now, so reduce watering by half.
- Prune dormant fruit trees and grapes on a dry, mild day.
UK gardeners — December
December is the UK's quiet month. Harvest brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips, kale, and overwintered chard. Plant bare-root fruit trees and bushes on mild days. Force rhubarb crowns indoors. Plan next year and order seeds.
Most of England and Wales falls in RHS H4-H5 (roughly USDA 7-8). Scotland skews cooler (H3-H4); coastal southwest skews warmer (H5). See UK hardiness ratings →
December planting by USDA zone
Pick your USDA zone for the full crop-by-crop list for December. Each zone page includes sowing, transplanting, harvesting, and maintenance actions.
Zone 3 — December
4 actions- Prep & plan: Garden journal review and next-year plan
- Maintain: Check stored crops weekly
- Maintain: Tend houseplants, force bulbs (amaryllis, paperwhites)
See full zone 3 plan →
Zone 4 — December
4 actions- Prep & plan: Garden plan and seed orders
- Maintain: Check stored crops, garlic mulch, perennial cover
- Maintain: Houseplants — slow watering for winter dormancy
See full zone 4 plan →
Zone 5 — December
4 actions- Prep & plan: Garden plan and seed orders
- Maintain: Mulch check on garlic and strawberries after freeze-thaw cycles
- Prep & plan: Dormant pruning of apples, pears, currants
See full zone 5 plan →
Zone 6 — December
4 actions- Harvest: Last brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips, kale under cover
- Prep & plan: Garden plan, seed orders, soil test results
- Prep & plan: Dormant pruning of fruit trees and grapes
See full zone 6 plan →
Zone 7 — December
4 actions- Harvest: Overwintering greens (kale, spinach, mache), leeks, parsnips, brussels sprouts
- Sow indoors: Onions, leeks (late December under lights)
- Prep & plan: Dormant pruning
See full zone 7 plan →
Zone 8 — December
4 actions- Harvest: Cool-season greens, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, citrus
- Sow outdoors: Final garlic (early December)
- Sow outdoors: Hardy greens, peas, broad beans (under cover)
See full zone 8 plan →
Zone 9 — December
4 actions- Harvest: Fall tomatoes (finishing), peppers, citrus, cool-season greens, broccoli, cauliflower
- Sow outdoors: Lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, brassicas, carrots
- Transplant: Cool-season transplants — main season
See full zone 9 plan →
Zone 10 — December
4 actions- Harvest: Full cool-season harvest — lettuce, kale, broccoli, citrus, peppers, tomatoes
- Sow outdoors: Continued cool-season sowing — main growing period
- Transplant: Brassicas, lettuce, kale, herbs
See full zone 10 plan →
Zones 1-2 and 11-13 in December
Sub-Arctic zones 1-2 (interior Alaska and northern Canada) are still effectively dormant for any month outside June-August. Greenhouse and cold-frame work dominates the calendar; outdoor planting compresses into a 60-90 day window.
Tropical zones 11-13 (Hawaii, southern Florida, Puerto Rico) have no frost cycle. Calendar timing depends on the wet/dry seasons rather than spring/fall frost — most temperate crops grow October through April, with the hot-wet summer as the off-season.
Source and methodology
Timing curated against US Cooperative Extension publications (UNL, UMN, NC State, Texas A&M, UF/IFAS, Oregon State) and cross-checked against the RHS sowing calendar for UK readers. Frost-date averages from NOAA Climate Data Online. Curated by the Growli editorial team.