When to plant chili pepper in Houston

In Houston, typical last spring frost is January 23 and typical first fall frost is December 29. Typical last spring frost: January 23. Chili pepper in Houston is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 222 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Chili pepper

How to grow Chili pepper Houston climate Weekly temperatures and windows

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Chili pepper in Houston is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 222 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: January 14 – March 10
Transplant outside: March 18 – May 12
Harvest: May 17 – August 20
Season vs crop: 222 grow days vs 60–100 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): January 23 – December 29

Chili pepper in Houston is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 222 days covers the 60–100 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row222

Days to harvest60–100 days from transplant

Jan 14 – Mar 10

Start indoors

Mar 11 – Mar 17

Harden off

March 18

Transplant outside

Mar 19 – May 16

Grow outdoors

May 17 – Aug 20

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Jan 14 – Mar 10	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	Mar 11 – Mar 17	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	March 18	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	Mar 19 – May 16	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	May 17 – Aug 20	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost (35 seasons (1991–2025)). Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (21 – 32 °C70 – 90 °F21 – 32 °C (70 – 90 °F)) and tolerable (16 – 35 °C61 – 95 °F16 – 35 °C (61 – 95 °F)) ranges.

Ideal / plantable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot
Outside window

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules; growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostJanuary 23

Low-risk last spring frostMarch 4

Typical first fall frostDecember 29

Low-risk first fall frostDecember 4

Frost-free days339

Earliest indoor seed startJanuary 14

Latest indoor seed startMarch 10

Transplant outdoorsMarch 18 – May 12

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowMarch 18 – October 25 (222 days)

Expected harvestMay 17 – August 20

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 21 – 32 °C70 – 90 °F21 – 32 °C (70 – 90 °F).
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 16 – 35 °C61 – 95 °F16 – 35 °C (61 – 95 °F).
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Houston, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 60–100 days from transplant, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. Air ratings on the weekly chart colour only weeks inside that same window — see weekly temperatures and windows.

Other plants for Houston

Calculated by Plan & Plant. Method. Data 35 seasons (1991–2025).

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics.

Based on 35 years (1991–2025) of ERA5-Land data from Open-Meteo, for an area of about 10 km. Typical dates, not a guarantee.

Dates for Houston use ERA5-Land cell 29.76, -95.37. How we calculated this · Algorithm 2026-10-season-10.

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