When to Plant Cos lettuce in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Step by step in Guangzhou

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Start indoors

28 Nov - 12 Dec

Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow for autumn

9-30 Sep

Counting back 84 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

19 Dec - 3 Jan

Three weeks before your last frost.

Sow direct

26 Dec - 10 Jan

Two weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

1 May - 31 Oct

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 10 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.

Frost tolerance

Half-hardy

Damaged below

-3°C (26.6°F)

Days to maturity

55–70

Min soil temp

4.5°C (40.1°F)

Spacing

25 cm

Sowing depth

6 mm (0.2 in)

Sun

Partial

Cos lettuce through the year

Against the frost risk in Guangzhou

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cos lettuce

Frost risk Start indoors Autumn sowing Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Guangzhou

June has the highest average precipitation (331 mm); December has the lowest (30 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 49 mm

Feb 41 mm

Mar 97 mm

Apr 152 mm

May 299 mm

Jun 331 mm

Jul 212 mm

Aug 245 mm

Sep 176 mm

Oct 55 mm

Nov 42 mm

Dec 30 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Guangzhou

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
Month	Average low	Average high	Frost days
January	8.9°C (48°F)	20.9°C (69.5°F)	0.2
February	11.4°C (52.5°F)	23.1°C (73.5°F)	0.0
March	15.3°C (59.6°F)	26.5°C (79.8°F)	0.0
April	19.4°C (67°F)	29.3°C (84.7°F)	0.0
May	22.7°C (72.9°F)	30.6°C (87.1°F)	0.0
June	25.1°C (77.2°F)	31°C (87.8°F)	0.0
July	25.5°C (77.9°F)	31.7°C (89°F)	0.0
August	25.3°C (77.5°F)	31.6°C (88.9°F)	0.0
September	23.5°C (74.4°F)	30.8°C (87.5°F)	0.0
October	19.4°C (66.9°F)	29°C (84.2°F)	0.0
November	14.8°C (58.7°F)	26.3°C (79.3°F)	0.0
December	9.4°C (48.9°F)	21.7°C (71°F)	0.3

For cos lettuce, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing cos lettuce for Guangzhou

June is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 331 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant cos lettuce

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Give an upright cos lettuce room to form its centre

Keep seedlings evenly moist and thin or transplant them to the packet's final spacing. Crowding can provide baby leaves, but it is not a reliable way to produce full heads.

Watch for a lengthening central stem in warm weather. Bolting changes the harvest opportunity, so use suitable leaves promptly instead of waiting for a head that may no longer form well.

For whole-head harvest, check firmness and the cultivar's expected shape. For individual leaves, take the outer ones and preserve the centre while the plant is growing well.

Growing in a container

Choose compact cos varieties for pots and allow the upright canopy its space. Moisture fluctuations in a drying container can shorten the useful harvest.

What to record this season

Did crowding or heat prevent a usable upright head? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: RHS lettuce growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The RHS guide is written for UK growing conditions. Use its cultivation advice with local cultivar and seasonal guidance; its calendar months are not worldwide recommendations.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Keep seedlings evenly moist and thin or transplant them to the packet's final spacing. Crowding can provide baby leaves, but it is not a reliable way to produce full heads.

Protect tender growth from frost and wait for suitable growing warmth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: duration, wind, plant age and acclimatisation affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Cos lettuce are timed from 6 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Guangzhou.

The median frost-free season here is 348 days, against 55 to 70 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Guangzhou →

Nearby

Cos lettuce in places close by

Foshan 16 km Dasha 20 km Shiwan 22 km Shiqiao 22 km Daliang 31 km Sanshui 37 km

Also in Guangzhou

Other vegetables to time

Tomatoes tender Lettuce half hardy Potatoes half hardy Courgettes tender Sweet peppers tender Carrots hardy Cucumbers tender Green beans tender Peas hardy Garlic very hardy Chilli peppers tender Sweetcorn tender

Growing cos lettuce in Guangzhou

Can I grow cos lettuce in Guangzhou?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. June is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 331 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant cos lettuce in Guangzhou?

Aim for 19 Dec - 3 Jan in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 10-24 Jan - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might cos lettuce be ready to harvest in Guangzhou?

The estimated period is 1 May - 31 Oct, based on 55 to 70 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will cos lettuce tolerate?