USDA Hardiness Zone Guides

covers the northern Mountain West (Bozeman, Sheridan), the upper Midwest and Great Lakes (Minneapolis suburbs, Madison, central Maine), the central Plains (Des Moines, Omaha), the Adirondacks and most of upstate New York, and large stretches of southern Canada (southern Ontario, Quebec, the Prairie provinces). Winter lows drop to −15° to −10°F — cold enough to kill unprotected figs, rosemary, and most peach trees, but mild enough that a deep snow cover reliably overwinters garlic, spinach, and many cold-hardy perennials. The 140–160 day growing season is short, so the strategy is to start brassicas and cold-hardy roots indoors 8–10 weeks early and use mulch heavily to push the season at both ends.

spans the Mid-Atlantic (Virginia, Maryland), the Ohio Valley, central Kansas and Nebraska, and parts of the Southwest (Flagstaff, Albuquerque). Winter lows drop to −6°–10°F. The 160–180 day growing season supports a strong diversity of vegetables, herbs, and fruits — both cool-season crops and warm-season producers like tomatoes and peppers through the summer.

covers the warmer half of Zone 6 — southern New England (Boston, Hartford), the lower Hudson Valley, central and southern Ohio, southern Indiana and Illinois, central Missouri, the Ozarks, the Texas Panhandle, and parts of the Southwest (Flagstaff). Winter lows average −5° to 0°F rather than the −6° to −10°F of 6a, and the 165–185 day growing season is long enough for nearly all of the same crops as 6a. Mild winters let gardeners overwinter garlic, spinach, and many brassicas with row cover, and reliably ripen long-season warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers, and melons through the summer.

covers parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Ozarks, interior Southeast, and the Shenandoah Valley. Winters are cold but moderate — lows of 0°–5°F — and summers are long and warm. With a 180–200 day growing season, you can comfortably grow both warm-season crops (tomatoes, peppers, squash) and a wide range of cool-season vegetables in spring and fall. Frost cloth extends the season at both ends.

covers the warmer half of Zone 7 — the Tennessee Valley, central North Carolina, parts of Virginia, southern New Jersey, the Texas Hill Country, coastal Pacific Northwest (parts of Oregon, southwestern Washington), and the warmer lowlands of the Mid-Atlantic. Winter lows average 5°–10°F rather than the 0°–5°F of 7a, and the 190–210 day growing season is long enough for both warm-season staples (tomatoes, peppers, squash) and a strong cool-season spring/fall window. Mild winters let gardeners overwinter alliums, spinach, and many brassicas with minimal protection.

covers the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland), the lower Midwest (Minneapolis, Kansas City), the Mid-South (Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta), central Texas (Austin), and northern California (Sacramento, Napa). Winter lows drop to 10°–15°F — mild enough to overwinter many vegetables and cold-hardy fruit trees. The 210–230 day growing season gives you ample room for warm-season crops and a strong cool-season window from fall through early spring.

covers the warmer half of Zone 8 — the Seattle and Portland metro areas, central Texas (Austin, San Antonio), the Atlanta metro, coastal South and North Carolina, north-central Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee), and much of central California. Winter lows average 15°–20°F and are mild enough that many citrus, figs, and cold-hardy subtropicals survive outdoors with light protection during the occasional hard freeze. With a 220–240 day growing season, Zone 8b comfortably supports long-season warm-season crops, a robust cool-season fall-through-spring window, and even mid-summer replanting of heat-loving types that struggle further north.

includes the Deep South (Houston, New Orleans, Tampa, Phoenix lowlands, San Diego), coastal California, and southern Texas. Winter temperatures rarely fall below 20°F, and the 240–270 day growing season is long enough for year-round vegetable production. This is one of the few zones where you can grow tropical crops like citrus, avocado, and mango outdoors — and still succeed with warm-season vegetables almost year-round.

stretches across central and southern Florida (Miami, Fort Myers, Naples), the Gulf Coast (Corpus Christi, Brownsville), the warmest lowlands of the Desert Southwest (Yuma, Phoenix’s warmest microclimates), and Hawaii. Winter lows bottom out at 25°–30°F, making Zone 9b essentially frost-free for most of the year. The 270–310 day growing season is long enough to grow true tropicals — mango, avocado, citrus, and papaya — alongside year-round vegetables, with two distinct peaks (fall–spring for cool-season crops and a long warm-season stretch through summer).

covers the warmest parts of the mainland US — southern Florida (Miami, the Keys, Fort Lauderdale), the Florida Keys in particular, coastal Southern California (Long Beach, parts of the San Diego coast), and low-elevation pockets of Hawaii. With minimum winter temperatures between 30° and 35°F, Zone 10a is essentially frost-free: freezes are rare and brief when they occur. The 365 day growing season makes year-round vegetable production realistic and unlocks true tropicals — mango, avocado, citrus, papaya, banana, passionfruit, and coconut — grown outdoors without protection.

is the warmest mainland US zone — parts of the Florida Keys, the lowest coastal Southern California, the warmest lowlands of Hawaii, and a few frost-free microclimates around Los Angeles and Honolulu. Winter lows bottom out at 35°–40°F, so freezes are essentially nonexistent. The 365 day growing season unlocks true year-round production: warm-season vegetables all summer long, cool-season vegetables from fall through early spring, and a much wider range of true tropicals outdoors (mango, avocado, citrus, papaya, banana, passionfruit, lychee, guava, coconut, allspice, soursop) than even Zone 10a.