Grain · Poaceae
When to plant winter wheat
Sown in autumn, sits out the winter as a small plant, and needs that cold period before it will produce a head at all. Outyields spring wheat substantially.
Days to maturity
240-300
From sowing to a first picking.
Frost tolerance
Very hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Winter wheat are anchored to the first autumn frost rather than the last spring one, so the useful offset runs backwards from the end of the season instead of forwards from its start.
- Expect 240–300 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
- Can also be sown in late summer for an autumn crop or to overwinter.
Getting the timing right
Sow six to eight weeks before the first autumn frost, so the plant reaches three or four leaves before growth stops. Sown too early it grows soft and is prone to disease; too late and it goes into winter without enough root to survive it.
Frost tolerance
Survives to around -20C under snow, considerably less without it. Vernalisation is a requirement rather than a hazard: without a real winter it stays leafy and never flowers.
Classified as very-hardy, with damage expected below -20°C (-4°F)-4°F (-20°C).