Guides

A Planting Calendar for Maryland: When to Plant What

The DMV area sits right around USDA Zone 7, which gives us a long, forgiving season. The single most useful thing to know: fall and spring are both great times to plant, but different plants prefer one or the other. Here's a simple rhythm for the gardening year.

Why fall beats spring for planting (sometimes): in autumn the soil is still warm (roots keep growing) while the air is cool and rainy (less stress on the plant). Plants put in during fall wake up in spring already established. Spring planting works too, and can be better for some warm-season grasses — it usually just means more summer watering by you.

Spring — March to MayWake-up and the second-best planting window.

Plant perennials, grasses, trees, and shrubs once the soil is workable (a great window, especially early).
Divide crowded perennials as they emerge and replant elsewhere.
Hold off on heavy "cleanup" until temps warm up a little bit in late March or early April if you can; overwintering insects are still tucked in last year's stems and leaf litter.

Summer — June to AugustMostly watch, water, and enjoy.

Avoid planting in peak heat if you can — new plants struggle. If you must, water deeply and often.
Water anything planted this year (~1" per week without rain).
Leave spent flowers if you like — many feed pollinators and become seed for birds.
Pull weeds while small; a dense planting will eventually do most of the weeding for you.

Fall — September to NovemberThe best season of all. "Fall is for planting."

Plant everything — trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses. This is the prime window.
Plant spring bulbs (October–November) for that first burst of color.
Leave the leaves where you can — they're free mulch and winter habitat.
Don't cut everything down. Standing seed heads and stems feed birds and shelter insects all winter.

Winter — December to FebruaryRest, plan, and a little stealth gardening.

Enjoy the structure — grasses and seed heads are the winter garden.
Plan and design next year's beds; order seed and bare-root plants now while selection is best.
Winter-sow seeds that need cold to germinate (many natives do) in milk jugs outdoors.
Wait to cut back until spring — resist the tidy urge.

Want a garden that's planned around the whole year?

Designing for four seasons — bloom, structure, and wildlife in every month — is the heart of what I do.

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