What are the best plants to grow in your area?
When planning out your garden, take into consideration your geographical location & hardiness zones. Not all plants grow equally in all climates and temperatures. USDA has created a hardiness map, breaking the nation down by temperature ranges. Most plants can thrive in multiple zones, but it’s best to focus on creating an environment for your plants to thrive.
Planting Windows by Hardiness Zones
Zone 1: Summer months. This zone has the shortest planting window, with last frost date as late as early June, and the first frost date as early as late August. For this zone, planting in the summer months is ideal.
Zone 2: Late May. The last frost for zone 2 comes in mid-May, with good planting weather until the beginning of September, when you can expect the first frost.
Zone 3: Late May. Like zone 2, you may get the last frost in mid-May, but the first frost comes a bit later in mid-September.
Zone 4: Mid-May. In zone 4, the last frost can occur in the second week of May, so a safe planting window would be mid-May. You can expect the first frost in late September.
Zone 5: Early May. The last frost for Zone 5 comes as late as April 30th, with the first frost occurring in mid-October.
Zone 6: Late April. If you live in this zone, your last freeze could come in the third week of April, with the first frost in mid-October.
Zone 7: Mid-April. You might see the last frost during the first week of April and expect the first frost in late October.
Zone 8: Early April. In Zone 8, you can expect the last frost at the end of March, with the first frost possibly in early November.
Zone 9: Early to mid-March: The last frost date for this zone is at the end of February, and the first frost comes in December.
Zones 10,11,12,13: these zones don’t freeze, but pay attention to the heat/drought hardiness of your plant.
For a better idea of what to plant and when check out our article on best times to plant.
