Generally — Most Areas
amaranth greens (zones 2-11) suits most of Florida (8b-12a) — zones 8-11 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Amaranth Greens in Florida — the short answer
Amaranth Greens in Florida: hardy in zones 2–11, full sun, against a state median of ~320 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 2-11
- 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
- Florida zones
- 8b-12a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Jan 25 - Feb 10 – Dec 7 - Dec 18
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 281 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 45 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
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.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Florida spans zones 8b-12a, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score amaranth greens against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
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Florida is not one climate
A single Florida answer averages 67 counties whose growing seasons are 84 days apart — from 281 frost-free days in Holmes County to 365 in Sarasota County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what amaranth greens can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 67 counties runs 300–333 days, with a median of 320 days — a 84-day span end to end.
Measured across 67 Florida counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. 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 Florida Fits Best
Even within Florida's zones 8b-12a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for amaranth greens (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Amaranth Greens Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-11
- Frost-Free Days: 30+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 3 ft tall
- Picking window: ~30 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Florida Has
- USDA Zones: 8b-12a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Jan 25 - Feb 10
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Dec 7 - Dec 18
- Annual Rainfall: 50-65 inches
- Common Soils: Sandy, Muck (Everglades), Shell-rock (Keys)
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-11)
Preferred Soil pH
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 Amaranth Greens in Florida
The frost window
Across Florida, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 25 and Feb 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Dec 7 and Dec 18 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 300-day window you can count on — up to 327 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.
Frost tenderness
Amaranth Greens is frost-tender — FAO ECOCROP puts its killing temperature at 32°F — so set plants out two to three weeks PAST your local last hard freeze, not on it and not on the state's earliest date. The 28°F marker above is when killing freezes stop, not when light frost does. That is the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor — an established perennial comes through far colder while dormant, which is what its hardiness zone tells you.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when amaranth greens goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 4 weeks ahead, so counting back from Florida's late-side last freeze of Feb 10 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Days to maturity vs. the window
At 45 days to maturity (Growable Ground Plant Database), counting from the last hard freeze it ripens with 255 days to spare even in Florida's tightest freeze scenario — room for a later start or a second sowing.
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.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says amaranth greens survives winter in part of Florida, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Amaranth Greens wants 30+ frost-free days; a typical Florida site sees ~320 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Amaranth Greens needs ~1000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~7743 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Florida's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Amaranth Greens tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.3-8) — 3.7 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Florida. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Florida soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Florida 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. Florida soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant amaranth greens for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before amaranth greens goes in. What follows is Florida’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Florida — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Florida — 76,189 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 602 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Florida carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Florida
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
- •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
- •Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
- •On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Amaranth Greens in Florida
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Florida growers also need to think about:
Sandy soils drain too fast and hold few nutrients — frequent fertilization needed
Humidity drives fungal diseases (powdery mildew, black spot, rust)
Hurricane season (June-November) can destroy plantings
Nematodes are a serious pest in sandy FL soils
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Florida grower, not just amaranth greens — is covered on the Florida growing guide.
Timing shifts within Florida
Amaranth Greens needs about 30 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Holmes County — Florida’s shortest season at 281 frost-free days — clears that by 251 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Florida. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Florida’s 67 counties the frost-free season runs from 281 days in Holmes County to 365 days in Sarasota County — a spread of 84 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Florida county sees 320 frost-free days, leaving amaranth greens about 290 days of slack on a typical parcel — room for a second sowing where the season runs long.
County last-freeze dates and frost-free day counts: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). Amaranth Greens's 30-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Florida Cooperative Extension
For Florida-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for amaranth greens, the canonical source is UF/IFAS Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Amaranth Greens native to Florida?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Amaranth Greens as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Florida's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Florida natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Florida growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
Common Questions About Growing Amaranth Greens in Florida
When can I plant Amaranth Greens in Florida?
Florida's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 25 and Feb 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Dec 7 and Dec 18 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Amaranth Greens is frost-tender — its killing temperature is 32°F (FAO ECOCROP — the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor) — so wait two to three weeks past your site's last hard freeze, when light frost has also stopped, before planting out.
Can Amaranth Greens mature before first frost in Florida?
Yes — Amaranth Greens matures in 45 days (Growable Ground Plant Database), and Florida's dependable hard-freeze-free window runs 300 days (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020), leaving 255 days of margin. Plant once the last hard freeze has passed — two to three weeks later for anything tender — and it ripens ahead of the first fall freeze.
What hardiness zone is Amaranth Greens grown in across Florida?
Florida spans USDA hardiness zones 8b-12a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Amaranth Greens carries a range of zones 2-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Florida site have?
A typical Florida site sees ~320 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Amaranth Greens needs 30+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Amaranth Greens native to Florida?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Amaranth Greens as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Florida's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Florida natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Amaranth Greens in Florida?
Amaranth Greens tolerates pH 4.3-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.7-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Florida site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Amaranth Greens actually grow on my specific land in Florida?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores amaranth greens against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Florida
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores amaranth greens against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Florida amaranth greens averages can't show:
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