When to Plant Rosemary in Tempe, AZ

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant rosemary in Tempe should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Rosemary

Frost tolerance for rosemary: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant rosemary much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant rosemary
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant rosemary
Probably not a good time to plant rosemary

The earliest that you can plant rosemary in Tempe is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant rosemary and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rosemary may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rosemary indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Tempe. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tempe is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Tempe you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your rosemary in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tempe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Tempe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Tempe.