Rosemary planting calendar
When to plant rosemary — pick your state
Rosemary timing swings hard by climate — choose your state for sow, transplant, and harvest dates calibrated to its USDA zone and frost window.
Northeast
Southeast
Southwest
Pacific
Not listed: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming — the dominant climate zone there is outside rosemary's practical range, so a generic calendar would mislead more than it helps.
Common questions
When should I plant rosemary?
Start seeds indoors 10–12 weeks before the last frost; germination is slow and erratic (14–21 days at 18–21 °C / 65–70 °F) with low viability, so propagation by stem cuttings is preferred by most Extension services. Transplant outdoors after the last frost once soil has warmed — rosemary is perennial only in USDA zones 7–10 (established plants survive to about −12 °C / 10 °F); in zones 6 and colder treat as a tender annual or overwinter potted plants indoors before the first autumn frost. Tip harvests of stem ends begin around 80–100 days from transplant. Because the right window depends on your local frost dates, pick your US state above for a calendar with exact sow, transplant, and harvest dates.
Does the best time to plant rosemary vary by state?
Yes — planting dates swing by several weeks across the US because each state sits in a different USDA zone with its own frost window. Every state page here gives rosemary dates calibrated to that state's climate.
How are these rosemary planting dates calculated?
Each state's dates come from that state's dominant USDA hardiness zone and NOAA average frost dates, then adjusted for rosemary's cold tolerance and days to maturity.