Candytuft · London, England, United Kingdom
When to sow candytufts in London
Main outdoor window
24 Mar - 14 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
14 April
In London, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
18 May - 7 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in London
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Sow direct
24 Mar - 14 Apr
Three weeks before your last frost.
In flower
18 May - 7 Jun
Candytufts through the year
Against the frost risk in London
Why these dates
Sow direct three weeks before the last frost where it is to flower. It has a short season, roughly five weeks, so sow in succession every three weeks for a continuous show. Cut back hard after flowering and a second flush sometimes follows.
Hardy to about -10C, so it can be autumn-sown in zone 7 and milder for late spring flowers. Finishes quickly once the weather turns hot.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Candytufts are timed for direct sowing 3 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for London.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. London is zone 9a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
The median frost-free season here is 219 days, against 55 to 75 days to first flower for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in London
Other flowers to time
Growing candytufts in London
When should I plant candytufts in London?
Aim for 24 Mar - 14 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 14 Apr - 5 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will candytufts be ready to harvest in London?
Expect to start picking around 18 May - 7 Jun, based on 55 to 75 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will candytufts tolerate?
Hardy to about -10C, so it can be autumn-sown in zone 7 and milder for late spring flowers. Finishes quickly once the weather turns hot.