Seasonal planner

Planting Calendar by ZIP Code

Start with the live ZIP calendar, then browse plants that already have timing, first-output, and harvest-window data in Plant by ZIP.

Open the ZIP calendar Open plant screener
Calendar-ready plants
878
Timing data
878
Sourced yield rows
502

Useful setup tools

Supplies that fit this planning path

Product links are separate from plant rankings and may earn a commission. Use them as a practical checklist, not a requirement.

Timing / Before planting

Soil thermometer

Check whether spring soil is actually warm enough for direct sowing, transplanting, and tender warm-season crops.

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Propagation / Pre-season

Seed-starting trays

Start annual vegetables, herbs, and flowers ahead of transplant season.

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Protection / Cold nights

Frost blanket

Extend the season or protect tender plants during cold snaps.

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Protection / At planting

Garden clips or cover fasteners

Secure row cover, frost cloth, shade cloth, and young plant supports without tying permanent knots.

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How this page is built

The filter behind Planting calendar

The list below is generated from structured plant records, then sorted by sourced metrics, site fit, and planning usefulness.

Timing first

Prioritizes records with first-output windows, harvest-window estimates, and planting-depth guidance.

ZIP before purchase

Use the live calendar for frost context before starting seeds, setting transplants, or buying nursery stock.

Range language

Dates and maturity windows stay broad because soil temperature, cultivar choice, and spring weather shift timing.

Browse profiles

Sorted by sourced planning data, site fit, and practical usefulness. Use a ZIP lookup before buying, especially near a plant's zone edge.

Fruit shrub

Regent serviceberry

berries ripen in early summer

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
2b-7b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative edible berriesspring flowers
Fruit shrub

Carmine Jewel bush cherry

dark tart cherries in midsummer

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
3a-8a
FruitCurb appeal & colordwarf sour cherrycold-hardy prairie breeding
Berry shrub

York elderberry

white spring flowers; large berry clusters in late summer

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 10-12 ft rows
Zones
3a-8b
Privacy & screeningFruitproductive American elderberrypairs with Adams
Berry shrub

Adams elderberry

berries ripen in late summer

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 10-12 ft rows
Zones
3b-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative shrubpollinator flowers
Berry shrub

Wyldewood elderberry

large berry clusters in late summer

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 10-12 ft rows
Zones
3b-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifeproductive American elderberrybeneficial flowers
Nut shrub

American hazelnut

nuts mature in late summer

First output
3-5 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
6-10 ft in-row x 8-12 ft rows
Zones
4a-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative thicket shrubwildlife cover
Fruit shrub

Chickasaw plum

ripens in early summer

First output
4-5 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
14-20 ft in-row x 20-25 ft rows
Zones
5a-9b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative thicket-formerearly pollinator flowers
Fruit vine

Maypop passionfruit

fruit ripens in late summer

First output
1-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
6-10 ft in-row x 8-12 ft rows
Zones
6a-10a
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative passionflowerhost plant for butterflies
Berry perennial

Pilgrim cranberry

fruit ripens in fall

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
1-2 ft in-row x 3-4 ft rows
Zones
2a-7a
FruitPollinators & wildlifenative low-growing evergreenneeds acidic wet soil
Ornamental tree

Standing Ovation serviceberry

white flowers, edible berries, and fall color

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
12-24 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 15-35 ft rows
Zones
2a-8a
FruitCurb appeal & colornarrow native serviceberrybird-friendly fruit
Fruit shrub

Nanking cherry

red cherries in early summer

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
2b-7b
FruitPollinators & wildlifecold-hardy shrub cherryearly spring bloom
Ornamental shrub

Low Scape Mound chokeberry

white spring flowers; black fall berries; red fall color

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
12-24 weeks
Spacing
3-6 ft in-row x 3-8 ft rows
Zones
3a-9a
Native plantsPollinators & wildlifedwarf native aroniagroundcover scale
Perennial vegetable

Sunchoke

nutty tubers in fall and winter

First output
0-1 yrs
Harvest
3-10 weeks
Spacing
1.5-2 ft in-row x 2-3 ft rows
Zones
3a-9b
Vegetables & herbsPollinators & wildlifenative sunflower tubervery vigorous
Berry shrub

Viking aronia

berries ripen in late summer

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
3-6 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
3a-8a
FruitPollinators & wildlifeblack chokeberryexcellent fall color
Ornamental tree

Autumn Brilliance serviceberry

white spring flowers; red berries summer; brilliant fall color

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
12-24 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 15-35 ft rows
Zones
4a-9a
Curb appeal & colorPollinators & wildlifefour-season native treeedible fruit
Berry shrub

Black Lace elderberry

berries ripen in late summer

First output
2-3 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 10-12 ft rows
Zones
4a-8b
FruitCurb appeal & colordark cutleaf foliagepink spring flowers
Fruit shrub

Cornelian cherry dogwood

red tart fruit in late summer

First output
3-6 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
10-20 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
4a-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifevery early yellow bloomedible dogwood fruit
Fruit cactus

Eastern prickly pear

edible pads and fruit in summer

First output
1-3 yrs
Harvest
4-12 weeks
Spacing
2-6 ft in-row x 4-8 ft rows
Zones
4a-9b
FruitPollinators & wildlifecold-hardy cactusnative pollinator flowers
Fruit vine

Eastern Prince schisandra

red berries in late summer

First output
3-5 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
6-10 ft in-row x 8-12 ft rows
Zones
4a-8a
FruitCurb appeal & colorfive-flavor berryshade-tolerant vine
Berry shrub

Carmine goumi berry

scarlet berries ripen in late spring

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
4b-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifeearly edible berryfragrant spring flowers
Berry shrub

Red Gem goumi berry

red berries ripen in late spring

First output
3-5 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
15-20 ft in-row x 18-25 ft rows
Zones
4b-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenitrogen-fixing shrubtart cherry-like berries
Berry shrub

Sweet Scarlet goumi

berries ripen in late spring

First output
2-4 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
4-8 ft in-row x 6-10 ft rows
Zones
4b-8b
FruitPollinators & wildlifenitrogen-fixing shrubfragrant flowers
Fruit tree

Shenandoah pawpaw

ripens in September

First output
4-7 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
10-20 ft in-row x 12-25 ft rows
Zones
5a-9a
FruitPollinators & wildlifelarge mild custardy fruitnative understory tree
Fruit tree

Sunflower pawpaw

custardy fruit in early fall

First output
4-7 yrs
Harvest
2-5 weeks
Spacing
10-20 ft in-row x 12-25 ft rows
Zones
5a-9a
FruitPollinators & wildlifepartly self-fertile pawpawnative fruit tree

Source trail

References used by this shortlist

These are the most common planning references behind the visible records on this page.

2030 matching records NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Reference basis for ornamental plant size, function, and right-plant-right-place screening. 1480 matching records Penn State Extension - Landscaping and Gardening Around Walnuts and Other Juglone Producing Plants Black walnut and juglone sensitivity/tolerance cue for garden placement screening. 878 matching records University of Maryland Extension - Types of Containers for Growing Vegetables Container volume guidance, including large vegetables and 25-30 gallon dwarf fruit tree containers. 824 matching records Rutgers NJAES - Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance Deer browsing categories used as planning cues; no plant is deer proof under heavy pressure. 456 matching records Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder Reference basis for horticultural height, spread, bloom, and cultural ranges. 421 matching records University of Maryland Extension - Planting a Tree or Shrub Tree and shrub planting depth guidance, especially keeping the root flare at soil level.

Individual plant profiles show their own source links and caveats; this page shows the common references behind the current collection.

More planning paths

These pages turn the matcher database into crawlable collections without creating thin ZIP-code pages.

Native plants Browse native-flagged plants that can support habitat, pollinators, edible landscapes, and lower-maintenance planting plans. Fruit trees Compare fruit trees and tree-like edible plants by hardiness range, water needs, spacing, first output, and sourced yield data. Privacy shrubs Find plants for screening, edible hedges, visual buffers, and wildlife-friendly privacy by zone, water, soil, and mature size. Low-water plants Browse drought-tolerant and lower-water plant options for edible, native, ornamental, and screening goals. Vegetables & herbs Browse vegetable and herb profiles by hardiness range, light, soil, water, timing, spacing, container fit, and output data. Zone 7 vegetables Browse vegetable and herb profiles whose hardiness ranges fit USDA zone 7, with timing, spacing, container, and yield data. 4x8 raised bed crops Compare compact vegetables, herbs, and small-space crops that can make sense in a 4x8 raised bed. Deer-resistant plants Browse plants with better deer-resistance cues, based on the Plant by ZIP screening data and extension-style browsing categories. Black walnut tolerant plants Find plants with black walnut or juglone tolerance cues in the Plant by ZIP database. Full sun clay soil plants Browse plants marked for both full sun and clay soil, including vegetables, perennials, shrubs, and practical landscape plants. Pollinator plants Compare flowers, herbs, shrubs, natives, and habitat plants that support pollinators and wildlife while fitting real garden conditions. Container plants Find edible, ornamental, and habitat plants that can work in containers, patio beds, raised beds, and smaller spaces. Shade plants Browse plants that tolerate shade or part sun, including edible, native, ornamental, and ground-layer options for lower-light gardens. Clay soil plants Compare plants marked suitable for clay soils, including native perennials, shrubs, fruiting plants, and practical garden crops. Sandy soil plants Find plants that can work in sandy, fast-draining, or lower-moisture sites when water and mulch are managed well. Edible hedges Compare fruiting shrubs, cane fruit, vines, small trees, and screening plants that can add harvest value and structure.
Zone 7a calendar Browse database-backed planting windows, frost-aware timing notes, and useful plants for USDA zone 7a gardens. Zone 7b calendar Browse database-backed planting windows, frost-aware timing notes, and useful plants for USDA zone 7b gardens. Zone 8a calendar Browse database-backed planting windows, frost-aware timing notes, and useful plants for USDA zone 8a gardens. Plant now in 7a See practical, database-backed planting ideas for zone 7a based on the current season, hardiness fit, and Plant by ZIP profile data. Plant now in 7b See practical, database-backed planting ideas for zone 7b based on the current season, hardiness fit, and Plant by ZIP profile data. Fruit trees 7b Compare fruit trees, berries, nut trees, and woody edibles for USDA zone 7b using Plant by ZIP hardiness, water, spacing, and output data. Fruit trees 8a Compare fruit trees, nut trees, citrus-adjacent plants, and woody edibles for USDA zone 8a using Plant by ZIP data. Native plants 7 Browse native-flagged and habitat-friendly plants for USDA zone 7 gardens using Plant by ZIP hardiness, water, and profile data. Native plants 7b Browse native-flagged and habitat-friendly plants for USDA zone 7b gardens using Plant by ZIP hardiness, water, and profile data.