Crop lessons · Other crops
Growing Sugarcane in Florida
Saccharum spp.
Sugarcane is a tall perennial grass that makes an attractive edible screen or windbreak, with green, red or purple canes. Gardeners usually grow a chewing cane or a syrup cane, since crystal canes are commercial types. It grows only from cuttings, keeps producing for years, and is fairly free of serious pests; the main cautions are its sharp-edged leaves and protecting new growth from frost.1
Planting1
| How to start | stalk cuttings ('seed-cane') |
|---|
| Seed depth (inches) | furrow 6 deep (slightly deeper in sand or very organic soil); cover cane pieces with 4 to 6 of soil |
|---|
| Spacing in the row (inches) | lay pieces lengthwise and overlapping, each reaching to the middle of the next |
|---|
| Between rows (inches) | 48 to 120 (4 to 10 feet), or a single row |
|---|
| Days to harvest | ready by early November of the year after planting |
|---|
Sugarcane does not come true from seed. Cut mature stalks into pieces with five or six buds each (the buds sit at the nodes), so a few failures do not matter; which way the buds face does not matter either. Get cane from farmers markets, online sources or local gardeners, and ask your county Extension office for sources. Cut pieces keep up to two weeks somewhere cool and moist; dipping the ends in hot paraffin keeps them moist longer. Plant either before a killing frost, so pieces have sprouted before winter, or after winter sets in, so they stay dormant and sprout in spring. Shoots should appear in one to three weeks unless cold keeps them dormant.
Growing1
| Sun | Sunny location |
|---|
| Water | Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged after planting. Plants need good drainage, though mature cane withstands some flooding. |
|---|
| Fertilizer | Spread fertilizer in the furrow before planting; Gardening Solutions says one pound of 8-2-8 per 10 feet of row is typically fine, but a soil test is the best guide. Cover with 1 to 2 inches of soil before laying the cane. Extra feeding may help during growth, but stop after mid-July, since late fertilizer delays maturity and lowers sugar. Each spring, when regrowth starts, apply the same amount as at planting. |
|---|
Till the planting area well so roots spread easily. As shoots grow, keep pulling soil up into the furrow. Leaves that emerge in winter can be frost-damaged, though the plant usually survives while its growing point stays underground. Keep cane away from paths: the leaves are sharp, and some varieties fall over ('lodge') when mature. It can be intercropped with vegetables or legumes that are harvested before the cane shades them. Hand-weed or mulch rather than using herbicides. Replant every five to ten years to keep yields up.
Pests and diseases in Florida1
- Wireworms, grubs, stalk borers, mealybugs, termites and aphids: Common pests, but fast growth and natural enemies usually mean you still get a good harvest.
- Rodents and rabbits: Keep them out with physical barriers.
- Diseases: Varieties are bred for disease resistance; disinfect tools and harvest equipment to avoid spreading problems.
Harvest1
Cut mature stalks near the ground with a sharp knife or loppers, before a killing freeze, since the tender regrowth is cold-sensitive. Trim off the green upper part, which holds little sugar, then crush the stalks for juice or cut them into chewing pieces. Vigorous regrowth comes in spring as the soil warms.
In an aquaponics system
We haven't found a published source that covers sugarcane in aquaponics systems, so this lesson doesn't guess. The planting months above apply to a grow bed the same as to soil; the water does the watering.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- Only one UF/IFAS source was found. The EDIS 'Florida Crop/Pest Profile: Sugarcane' (PI207) linked from Gardening Solutions returned HTTP 410 (gone), and the EDIS 'Backyard Sugarcane' publication cited in UF/IFAS county blogs was not fetched.
- No home-garden variety names, soil pH or plant family were found.
- Neither SRAC 454 nor the FAO manual addresses sugarcane.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.
Sources
- Sugarcane. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions. Read 2026-11-02.
Every fact above is restated in our own words from these documents, written 2026-11-02. Independent of the University of Florida.