Conditional — Some Areas
angled loofah (zones 5-12) reaches only part of Minnesota (3a-5a): zone 5 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Angled Loofah in Minnesota — the short answer
Angled Loofah in Minnesota: hardy in zones 5–12, full sun, against a state median of ~174 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 5-12
- 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
- Minnesota zones
- 3a-5a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 19 - Apr 30 – Oct 10 - Oct 17
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 137 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.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Minnesota spans zones 3a-5a, 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 angled loofah against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Minnesota is not one climate
A single Minnesota answer averages 87 counties whose growing seasons are 62 days apart — from 137 frost-free days in Lake County to 199 in Ramsey County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what angled loofah can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 87 counties runs 162–181 days, with a median of 174 days — a 62-day span end to end.
Measured across 87 Minnesota 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 Minnesota Fits Best
Angled Loofah is rated for zones 5–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Against Minnesota’s 87 counties that band holds in 18 of them, and the line runs at Blue Earth County (zone 5a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 5–12
18 counties
- Brown County · zone 5a
- Cottonwood County · zone 5a
- Dakota County · zone 5a
3 of 18 shown
Below the zone 5 floor
69 counties
- Beltrami County · zone 3b
- Clearwater County · zone 3b
- Hubbard County · zone 3b
3 of 69 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 Minnesota's zones 3a-5a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for angled loofah (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Angled Loofah Needs
- USDA Zones: 5-12
- Frost-Free Days: 40+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Picking window: ~45 days of harvest
Minnesota Has
- USDA Zones: 3a-5a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 19 - Apr 30
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 17
- Annual Rainfall: 19-34 inches
- Common Soils: Prairie loam, Clay, Sandy outwash
Plant Zone Range (zones 5-12)
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 Angled Loofah in Minnesota
The frost window
Across Minnesota, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 19 and Apr 30, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 163-day window you can count on — up to 181 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.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when angled loofah goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 4 weeks ahead, so counting back from Minnesota's late-side last freeze of Apr 30 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Lake County, not the statewide average.
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 angled loofah survives winter in part of Minnesota, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Angled Loofah wants 40+ frost-free days; a typical Minnesota site sees ~174 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
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
Angled Loofah tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-7.5) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Minnesota. 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 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Minnesota soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Minnesota site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
SSURGO maps about 34.6% of Minnesota as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Angled Loofah sits mid-range for drought tolerance, so either extreme can cost you — your soil map unit, not the state average, is the real answer.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
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. Minnesota soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant angled loofah 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 angled loofah goes in. What follows is Minnesota’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 Minnesota — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Minnesota — 59,092 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 172 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Minnesota 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.
Sources Checked
across Minnesota
Severity Distribution
across Minnesota
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Minnesota, two things run higher than the national average across Minnesota — CAFO (1,010 sites) and Brownfields (29,697 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties where legacy soil contamination (heavy metals, PAHs, petroleum compounds) may persist.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Check EPA brownfield remediation status — many sites have completed cleanup with institutional controls.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Angled Loofah in Minnesota
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Minnesota growers also need to think about:
Extreme cold (zone 3a: -40F) limits many species
Short growing season (100-140 frost-free days)
Heavy clay soils in the Red River Valley
Growing angled loofah here specifically
Angled Loofah roots run medium and prefer pH 4.5–7.5, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 34.6% of Minnesota as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its roots before pH ever matters.
Plant angled loofah on a raised, gravel-amended berm so water drains fast and the roots stays dry. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Minnesota grower, not just angled loofah — is covered on the Minnesota growing guide.
Timing shifts within Minnesota
Minnesota isn't one climate. In Lake County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 14 — roughly 23 days later than the recorded state median — so plant angled loofah to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Angled Loofah needs about 40 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Lake County — Minnesota’s shortest season at 137 frost-free days — clears that by 97 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Minnesota. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Minnesota’s 87 counties the frost-free season runs from 137 days in Lake County to 199 days in Ramsey County — a spread of 62 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Minnesota county sees 174 frost-free days, leaving angled loofah about 134 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"). Angled Loofah's 40-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Angled Loofah draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, angled loofah can only work that bloom inside Minnesota's frost window — roughly 174 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 19 - Apr 30) and closing at the first (Oct 10 - Oct 17), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Minnesota Cooperative Extension
For Minnesota-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for angled loofah, the canonical source is University of Minnesota Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Angled Loofah native to Minnesota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Angled Loofah as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Minnesota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Minnesota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Minnesota 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 Angled Loofah in Minnesota
When can I plant Angled Loofah in Minnesota?
Minnesota's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 19 and Apr 30, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.
What hardiness zone is Angled Loofah grown in across Minnesota?
Minnesota spans USDA hardiness zones 3a-5a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Angled Loofah carries a range of zones 5-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Minnesota site have?
A typical Minnesota site sees ~174 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Angled Loofah needs 40+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Lake, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Angled Loofah native to Minnesota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Angled Loofah as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Minnesota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Minnesota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Angled Loofah in Minnesota?
Angled Loofah tolerates pH 4.5-7.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Minnesota site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Angled Loofah actually grow on my specific land in Minnesota?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores angled loofah 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 Minnesota
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores angled loofah against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Minnesota angled loofah averages can't show:
We read public map data around Minnesota — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Minnesota angled loofah average
Explore More
Growing guides for angled loofah
Explore Minnesota county by county
Minnesota carries 87 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for angled loofah there:
Where else angled loofah grows
Angled Loofah's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Minnesota 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 Minnesota
Minnesota has a growing page for 747 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
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