When to Plant Desert Garden Seeds

They shouldn’t all be planted at the same time

Mar 10, 2007

When you plant seeds which you will transplant outside in your garden depends upon many factors.

Seeds need to be planted far enough in advance of the time they will be transplanted into the garden. The time frame can be anywhere from four weeks to over four months depending on how long the seeds need to germinate, the rate of growth of the plant, and outside conditions, like precipitation and temperature.

One of the biggest mistakes beginning (and some seasoned gardeners as well) make is sowing seeds too early. The seeds germinate, and begin to grow, but outside conditions are not right to transplant them into the garden. As a result, the plants will get long and leggy or become stunted.

One of the best guides as to when to plant seeds for transplanting is the USDA Cold-Hardiness Zone map.

When to plant

Some favorite and more common plants for desert gardens have varying requirements for planting. Here are some guidelines:

You should seed the following plants 12 weeks or more before the last spring frost:

The plants below should be seeded 10 weeks before the last spring frost:

The following plants should be sown eight weeks before the last spring frost:

The plants below should be sown six weeks before the last spring frost:

The plants below should be sown four weeks or less before the last spring frost:

Please understand that this is not an exhaustive list. For a full list of plants and cold hardiness zones, please see the National Arboretum website.

The copyright of the article When to Plant Desert Garden Seeds in Desert Gardens is owned by Robert Dailey. Permission to republish When to Plant Desert Garden Seeds in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.