agastache (Agastache spp.), photographi

Can I Grow Agastache in Nebraska?

USDA Zones 4b-6a · Plant zone range 6-9

Conditional — Some Areas

agastache (zones 6-9) reaches only part of Nebraska (4b-6a): zone 6 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.

Agastache in Nebraska — the short answer

Agastache in Nebraska: hardy in zones 6–9, full sun, against a state median of ~181 frost-free days.

Plant zones
6-9
Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
Nebraska zones
4b-6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
Apr 12 - Apr 26 – Oct 15 - Oct 21
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
134 days
NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.

Score your parcel · free

Your yard isn't the whole zone.

Nebraska spans zones 4b-6a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score agastache against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Nebraska is not one climate

Nebraska’s winter-low ladder runs across 93 counties, from zone 4.5 in Sioux County to zone 6 in Thayer County. That is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between agastache overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.

4.5 zonesSioux County6 zonesThayer County

The middle half of 93 counties runs 55.5 zones, with a median of 5.5 zones — a 1.5-zone span end to end.

Measured across 93 Nebraska counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.

Where in Nebraska Fits Best

Agastache is rated for zones 69 — a cold floor USDA puts at -10 to 0°F. Against Nebraska’s 93 counties that band holds in 22 of them, and the line runs at Adams County (zone 6a), the coldest county still inside it.

Inside zones 6–9

22 counties

3 of 22 shown

Below the zone 6 floor

71 counties

3 of 71 shown

Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.

Even within Nebraska's zones 4b-6a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for agastache (USDA PHZM 2023):

Zone Comparison

Agastache Needs

  • USDA Zones: 6-9
  • Sun: Full Sun
  • Mature size: 3 ft tall
  • Picking window: ~60 days of harvest
  • Drought tolerance: High

Nebraska Has

  • USDA Zones: 4b-6a
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 12 - Apr 26
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 15 - Oct 21
  • Annual Rainfall: 15-34 inches
  • Common Soils: Loess, Sandy loam (Sandhills), Silt loam

Plant Zone Range (zones 6-9)

6a
9b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 6.07.5

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.

When to Plant Agastache in Nebraska

The frost window

Across Nebraska, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 172-day window you can count on — up to 192 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.

Winter standing

Nebraska runs as cold as USDA zone 4, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for agastache, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether agastache is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Nebraska; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.

Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.

Soil + Drainage Fit

Agastache likes near-neutral soil (pH 6-7.5). That's the common-ground band across Nebraska's loess and sandy loam (sandhills) — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6.5 and 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Nebraska soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Nebraska site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.

Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Nebraska soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

What Else to Consider for Agastache in Nebraska

Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Nebraska growers also need to think about:

Low western rainfall (15 inches) requires irrigation

Extreme wind exposure on open plains

Hail damage during severe storm season

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Nebraska grower, not just agastache — is covered on the Nebraska growing guide.

Where in Nebraska Agastache Is Zone-Hardy

Agastache is rated for USDA zones 69. 22 of Nebraska’s 93 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Adams County at zone 6a. 71 counties sit below the plant’s zone 6 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Nebraska decides this one.

Across those 93 counties Nebraska’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4b in Sioux County to zone 6a in Thayer County 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.

The planting window moves with it. Sioux County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about May 14, while Douglas County is clear by Apr 5 39 days apart. Set agastache out on your county’s date, not the state’s.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Agastache’s zone 69 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.

Pollinator + Wildlife Value

Agastache draws honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, agastache can only work that bloom inside Nebraska's frost window — roughly 181 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 12 - Apr 26) and closing at the first (Oct 15 - Oct 21), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.

Nebraska Cooperative Extension

For Nebraska-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for agastache, the canonical source is Nebraska Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Common Questions About Growing Agastache in Nebraska

When can I plant Agastache in Nebraska?

Nebraska's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Agastache, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Nebraska and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.

What hardiness zone is Agastache grown in across Nebraska?

Nebraska spans USDA hardiness zones 4b-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Agastache carries a range of zones 6-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.

How many frost-free days does a typical Nebraska site have?

A typical Nebraska site sees ~181 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Agastache should be matched against that window, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.

How should I amend the soil for Agastache in Nebraska?

Agastache prefers pH 6-7.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (Growable Ground Plant Database). That sits in the common-ground band across Nebraska soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.

Will Agastache actually grow on my specific land in Nebraska?

State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores agastache against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Nebraska

State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores agastache against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.

Three things about your lot that Nebraska agastache averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Nebraska averages 181Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Nebraska — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Nebraska agastache average

Explore More

Explore Nebraska county by county

Nebraska carries 93 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for agastache there:

Where else agastache grows

Agastache's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Nebraska in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.

More to grow in Nebraska

Nebraska has a growing page for 806 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.

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