When to Plant Brussels Sprouts in Zone 3a

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 3a can be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant brussels sprouts.


Planting Calendar for Brussels Sprouts

Frost tolerance for brussels sprouts: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Brussels Sprouts are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant brussels sprouts in Zone 3a is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant brussels sprouts and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your brussels sprouts may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your brussels sprouts indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 3a is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your brussels sprouts if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.