How to Grow Stevia Canada
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In Canada, stevia planted out late April to mid May.
Timing is the decision that matters most in Canada: there are 6 separate regional planting out windows, ranging from mid March in Pacific Coastal Mild to early June in Far North & Alpine.
The short answer
- Plant out
- Late April to mid May
- Site
- 2+ hours of sun, soil pH 5.5–7
- Biggest risk
- Septoria leaf spot of stevia
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
3 sources cited · Verified
Regional Planting Calendar
| Region | Plant out |
|---|---|
| Central Continental derived | late April to mid May |
| Prairies & Short-Season Continental derived | late May to early June |
| Pacific Coastal Mild derived | mid March to early April |
| Far North & Alpine derived | early June to mid June |
| Atlantic Maritime derived | early May to late May |
| Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes derived | late April to mid May |
Rows marked derived are interpolated between regions our sources do state, because no source we consulted gives a figure for that region specifically. They are deliberately wider to reflect that uncertainty.
Central Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 30 April to 14 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Prairies & Short-Season Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 21 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 21 May to 4 June. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Pacific Coastal Mild - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 18 March (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 18 March to 1 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Far North & Alpine - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 5 June (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 5 June to 19 June. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Atlantic Maritime - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 7 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 7 May to 21 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Frost-tender; plant outside after all risk of frost has passed (RHS); grown as a tender annual across Canada. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 30 April to 14 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Quick Facts
At a Glance
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
Harvest & Storage
Diseases
Pests
Plan your Stevia planting
When to sow and plant Stevia depends on your own frost dates. Check the Canada vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
What the research guides add
Stevia is a tender perennial from Brazil and Paraguay, which decides how it has to be grown in most gardens.
- A tender perennial in the daisy family that grows 1 to 2 feet tall and as wide, grown for sweet leaves that are ground to make a sugar substitute. (NC State Extension)
- It prefers full sun, tolerates partial shade, and needs moist, well-drained, slightly acidic, organically rich, loamy or sandy soil. (NC State Extension)
- It is winter hardy in USDA zones 10 to 11; in North Carolina it is grown as an annual and brought indoors before the first frost. (NC State Extension)
- Fertilise about every 4 to 6 weeks in the growing season. Leaves are harvested about 90 days after planting, best just as the plant begins to flower, cutting stems about 6 inches above the ground. (NC State Extension)
- It can be propagated by stem cuttings or seeds. Overwatering can cause root rot, and aphids and spider mites are worth watching for. (NC State Extension)
Stevia in Canada: climate data
| Station | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Frost-free days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton, AB | 24 May | 12 Sep | 110 |
| Winnipeg, MB | 23 May | 22 Sep | 121 |
| Charlottetown, PE | 16 May | 17 Oct | 153 |
| Toronto, ON | 30 Apr | 16 Oct | 168 |
| Vancouver, BC | 18 Mar | 10 Nov | 237 |
Frost dates and frost-free days are the median values for the stations in Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals with the highest data-quality rating (1981–2010 normals).
Sources for this section
Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Growing Stevia in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 3 sources behind this guide (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, NC State Extension Publications, Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to stevia; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I plant stevia out in Canada?
In Pacific Coastal Mild, from mid March. In Far North & Alpine, wait until early June. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to plant out only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
What soil pH does stevia need?
A pH of about 5.5–7. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect stevia?
Our data links 1 disease and 3 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.
Get the Canada Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Vegetable Growing Guides Canada
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-10-25
Related guides
More from the same group (herbs & aromatics):
Growing advice for your part of Canada
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.