🥬 When to Plant Celery

🥬 Vegetable
Cool Season

Needs steady moisture and cool temperatures; blanch stems for milder flavor

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Mar 21 May 16
Zone 3B May 15 Mar 6 May 1
Zone 4A May 8 Feb 27 Apr 24
Zone 4B May 1 Feb 20 Apr 17
Zone 5A Apr 25 Feb 14 Apr 11
Zone 5B Apr 18 Feb 7 Apr 4
Zone 6A Apr 21 Feb 10 Apr 7
Zone 6B Apr 10 Jan 30 Mar 27
Zone 7A Apr 5 Jan 25 Mar 22
Zone 7B Mar 28 Jan 17 Mar 14
Zone 8A Mar 20 Jan 9 Mar 6
Zone 8B Mar 12 Jan 1 Feb 26
Zone 9A Feb 28 Dec 20 Feb 14
Zone 9B Feb 15 Dec 7 Feb 1
Zone 10A Feb 1 Nov 23 Jan 18
Zone 10B Jan 15 Nov 6 Jan 1
Zone 11A Jan 1 Oct 23 Dec 18

Celery is one of the most challenging vegetables to grow — it needs consistent moisture, cool temperatures, and a long season. But homegrown celery is far more flavorful than anything from a store.

Top Growing Tips

  • Start seeds indoors 10 weeks before last frost (one of the earliest starts in the garden)
  • Barely cover seeds — they need light to germinate
  • Maintain consistent moisture; celery is 95% water and stress causes hollow stalks
  • Blanch stalks by wrapping with newspaper or black plastic 2 weeks before harvest
  • Grow in rich soil with plenty of compost; feeds heavily

Companion Planting

Good companions: tomatoes, beans, brassicas, leeks

Avoid planting near: corn, parsnips (compete aggressively for similar nutrients)

Harvest Timeline

85-120 days from transplant; harvest entire plant or outer stalks as needed