🫑 When to Plant Peppers

Slower than tomatoes — start them even earlier. Pick your zone below for exact dates, or read the quick reference.

Season type
Warm-season
very tender
Spacing
18″ / 30″
plants / rows
Days to maturity
60–90
from transplant

Peppers sulk in cool soil; transplant 2–3 weeks after last frost when the ground has truly warmed. Every pepper turns from green to its ripe color if you wait, and ripe ones are sweeter (or hotter).

Peppers planting windows by zone

ZoneMain planting window
Zone 1 Jun 29 – Jul 6 transplant outdoors
Zone 2 Jun 13 – Jun 20 transplant outdoors
Zone 3 May 29 – Jun 5 transplant outdoors
Zone 4 May 19 – May 26 transplant outdoors
Zone 5 May 6 – May 13 transplant outdoors
Zone 6 Apr 24 – May 1 transplant outdoors
Zone 7 Apr 13 – Apr 20 transplant outdoors
Zone 8 Mar 29 – Apr 5 transplant outdoors
Zone 9 Mar 6 – Mar 13 transplant outdoors
Zone 10 Feb 8 – Feb 15 transplant outdoors
Zone 11 Nearly year-round frost-free
Zone 12 Nearly year-round frost-free
Zone 13 Nearly year-round frost-free

Each zone link above has the complete schedule — indoor seed-starting, 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.