What to Plant in March in Zone 9: Warm Starts Over Cool Finishes
In USDA zone 9, March keeps cool-season sowings open while melons open early month and tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash start around March 10.
Published by ThriveThyme
March Zone 9 March zone 9 spring planting warm-season crops cool-season crops
What to Plant in March in Zone 9
In USDA zone 9, March overlaps late cool-season beds with warm-season starts. Cool greens, roots, brassicas, peas, and cover crops that opened February 1 stay open into April. From about March 1, melons, eggplant, okra, cucumber, and sweet potato start. From about March 10, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, corn, and warm herbs open. Mid-month adds basil, marigold, and more peppers.
Typical last frost for zone 9 averages around February 25, so March is usually past the average last frost. Confirm with the first-frost lookup and the first frost guide. Also check the zone 9 March calendar and what to plant now.
Finish Cool-Season Beds
Keep sowing while February-April windows fit:
- Greens: lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, collards, Swiss chard, bok choy. Lettuce, spinach, kale.
- Roots: radish, beet, turnip, parsnip, carrot. Radish, beet, carrot.
- Brassicas, peas, onions, cool herbs, and cover crops. Pea, broccoli.
- Flowers still open from February: pansy, snapdragon, sweet pea, breadseed poppy, bachelor's button, black-eyed Susan, and related spring flowers. Asparagus closes about March 20. Asparagus.
Fruit Windows Closing
Blackberry canes run into about March 10. Fig spring planting closes about March 15. Rabbiteye blueberry ends about March 1. Finish those while soil is workable. Fig tree, blueberry.
March Warm-Season Block
From about March 1: cantaloupe, watermelon, eggplant, okra, cucumbers, and sweet potato. From about March 10: tomato (including cherry, roma, beefsteak, brandywine, yellow pear), peppers, beans and pole beans, squash and pumpkin, sweet corn, warm herbs (basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram, French tarragon), and summer flowers such as zinnia, cosmos, sunflower, and morning glory. From about March 15: basil, cucumber, marigold, and pepper. Tomato, bean, squash, cantaloupe.
Next Steps
Keep cool beds filled, plant warm-season crops through March, and finish fruit before early windows close. Compare February zone 9, March zone 8, and March zone 10.