Growing zones
Find your zone, then plant on time
Your USDA hardiness zone sets your frost dates, and your frost dates set the planting calendar. Pick a zone to see what to plant this week and what's coming up.
Don't know your zone? Look up your ZIP code on the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, then pick it here. We'll remember it on this device.
This week
Coming up
Dates count from your zone's average frost dates. Local conditions vary by a week or two either way; for exact timing per crop, use the planting date calculator.
- Winter low
- Last spring frost
- First fall frost
- Frost-free season
Every zone at a glance
| Zone | Winter low (°F) | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Frost-free season | Typical regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 · Very Cold | -40 to -30 | May 15 – Jun 1 | Sep 1 – Sep 15 | 90–110 days | Minnesota, northern Maine, high Rockies |
| Zone 4 · Short Season | -30 to -20 | May 10 – May 30 | Sep 20 – Oct 10 | 115–145 days | Upper Midwest, northern New England |
| Zone 5 · Cold Climate | -20 to -10 | May 1 – May 15 | Sep 15 – Oct 1 | 120–150 days | Great Lakes, southern New England, mid-Atlantic highlands |
| Zone 6 · Transitional | -10 to 0 | Apr 15 – May 15 | Oct 1 – Oct 15 | 140–180 days | Mid-Atlantic, Midwest transition, Pacific Northwest mountains |
| Zone 7 · Year-Round | 0 to 10 | Apr 1 – Apr 15 | Oct 15 – Nov 1 | 180–210 days | Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Pacific NW lowlands |
| Zone 8 · Hot & Humid | 10 to 20 | Mar 10 – Apr 5 | Nov 1 – Nov 30 | 210–265 days | Georgia, South Carolina, Gulf Coast, coastal California |
| Zone 9 · Subtropical | 20 to 30 | Jan 25 – Mar 1 | Nov 15 – Dec 15 | 260–325 days (some areas frost-free) | Southern California, Gulf Coast, California Central Valley |
| Zone 10 · Tropical | 30 to 40 | Essentially frost-free | Rare freeze events | Year-round | South Florida, Hawaii, desert Southwest |
Zones are 10°F bands of the average coldest winter night. Regions are typical, not exact: elevation, coastlines and cities shift zones within a state, which is why the ZIP lookup on the USDA map is the one to trust.
Raised bed guides by zone
Learn more about zones and frost
- USDA hardiness zones explained: what the numbers mean and how they were drawn
- Frost dates by zone: the planting guide these dates come from
- Hardiness zones vs heat zones: why summer heat matters too
- Microclimates: growing a half-zone warmer than your map says
- Spring planting by zone and fall planting by zone
- Row covers and frost protection, zone by zone
- All of our growing-by-zone guides
Sources
Zone temperature bands from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Frost dates are regional averages from our frost dates guide; crop timing from state cooperative extension planting calendars.
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