🌿 When to Plant Parsley
Slow to germinate (2-4 weeks); soak seeds overnight. Biennial plant
📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone
Parsley is a cool-season crop — plant it around your last spring frost, and you can often start it earlier indoors or sow again for a fall harvest. Find the exact start-indoors, transplant, and direct-sow dates for your USDA zone in the table below.
Select your zone to highlight your dates. All dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates — see how we calculate them.
| Zone | Last Frost | Start Indoors | Transplant | Direct Sow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2A | May 30 | Mar 21 | May 2 | May 2 |
| Zone 3B | May 15 | Mar 6 | Apr 17 | Apr 17 |
| Zone 4A | May 8 | Feb 27 | Apr 10 | Apr 10 |
| Zone 4B | May 1 | Feb 20 | Apr 3 | Apr 3 |
| Zone 5A | Apr 25 | Feb 14 | Mar 28 | Mar 28 |
| Zone 5B | Apr 18 | Feb 7 | Mar 21 | Mar 21 |
| Zone 6A | Apr 21 | Feb 10 | Mar 24 | Mar 24 |
| Zone 6B | Apr 10 | Jan 30 | Mar 13 | Mar 13 |
| Zone 7A | Apr 5 | Jan 25 | Mar 8 | Mar 8 |
| Zone 7B | Mar 28 | Jan 17 | Feb 28 | Feb 28 |
| Zone 8A | Mar 20 | Jan 9 | Feb 20 | Feb 20 |
| Zone 8B | Mar 12 | Jan 1 | Feb 12 | Feb 12 |
| Zone 9A | Feb 28 | Dec 20 | Jan 31 | Jan 31 |
| Zone 9B | Feb 15 | Dec 7 | Jan 18 | Jan 18 |
| Zone 10A | Feb 1 | Nov 23 | Jan 4 | Jan 4 |
| Zone 10B | Jan 15 | Nov 6 | Dec 18 | Dec 18 |
| Zone 11A | Jan 1 | Oct 23 | Dec 4 | Dec 4 |
When to plant parsley in zone 7
In USDA zone 7, plant parsley by direct sowing or transplanting on March 8 (zone 7a) or February 28 (zone 7b) — about 4 weeks before the average last frost. For an earlier harvest, start seeds indoors on January 25 (7a) or January 17 (7b). Parsley tolerates light frost, so early planting is safe.
For other zones, see the planting calendar above — dates are calculated from each zone’s average last frost.
Parsley is a biennial herb that’s far more versatile than just a garnish, rich in vitamins A, C, and K.
Recommended Varieties
Parsley splits into two leaf forms plus a root type — pick by how you’ll use it. Flat-leaf carries the kitchen; curled earns its keep as garnish; Hamburg is grown for the root.
- Flat-leaf / Italian — the preferred culinary parsley, with a more pungent, sweet flavor than curly types. Giant of Italy offers huge dark green leaves with great flavor on strong upright stems (about 75 days).
- Curled — tightly ruffled, dark green leaves prized for garnish and decoration. Darki Green, a very dark Moss Curled selection, has upright leaves that make harvesting easy (about 75 days); Forest Green is a classic double-curled type.
- Hamburg / rooted — grown for its large, carrot-like white root for soups and stews, though the leaves are also usable (about 85 days).
To choose: grow flat-leaf for cooking and curled for garnish or edging. Sow early and be patient — parsley seed is slow and erratic to germinate, often taking several weeks, especially in cool, wet soil. It tolerates cold well, and flat-leaved types overwinter better than curly ones. As a hardy biennial, it bolts and flowers in its second year, and the leaf flavor declines then, so most gardeners grow it as an annual.
Top Growing Tips
- Slow to germinate (2-3 weeks) — soak seeds overnight to speed up
- Flat-leaf (Italian) has stronger flavor; curly is more decorative
- Harvest outer stems first, leaving the center to keep growing
- Overwinters in mild zones and produces seed the second year
- Excellent container plant for windowsill gardens
Companion Planting
Good companions: tomatoes, asparagus, roses, corn
Avoid planting near: lettuce (some sources suggest competition)
Harvest Timeline
70-90 days from seed; harvest outer leaves continuously
Growing parsley in your region?
These dates come from your zone's frost windows. For the full month-by-month plan — succession sowing, variety picks, and timing tuned to your climate, not just your zone — our regional vegetable-gardening guides cover your area start to finish.
Find your regional growing guide