Annual Lespedeza is an annual grown for its pods, ready to pick about 120 days after sowing. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9 and handles dry spells once it's established. Its late summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees, even though the pods are the prize. A nitrogen-fixer, it draws nitrogen from the air and feeds it back to the soil — turn it under or leave the roots in place, and the next planting inherits a richer bed.
Annual Lespedeza — the short answer
Annual Lespedeza: grown in zones 5–9, full sun, pH 5–8, about 120 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- 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
- Soil pH
- 5–8
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 120 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 28°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
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Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether annual lespedeza actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score annual lespedeza against your land's real conditions.
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What Annual Lespedeza is
Annual Lespedeza grows as an annual and reaches around a foot and a half at maturity. It blooms in late summer.
How to grow Annual Lespedeza
Annual Lespedeza grows in USDA zones 5 through 9 and is ready to harvest about 120 days after planting. Annual Lespedeza does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 8, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,800 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
5-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 8
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
28°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
120 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
1800+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
120+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant annual lespedeza in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Annual Lespedeza prefers pH 5 to 8 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band. It fixes its own nitrogen, so skip the high-nitrogen feed and instead dust the seed with a matching rhizobium inoculant at sowing.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Annual Lespedeza is ready about 120 days after sowing. Pick the pods young and tender, before the seeds inside fully swell.
Where Annual Lespedeza thrives
Annual Lespedeza is hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 5–9 spans average winter lows from -20°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 25 outright and splits 25 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 5–9·Where Annual Lespedeza growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Annual Lespedeza stands, state by state
Annual Lespedeza is rated for zones 5–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 25 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 25 more, and 1 sits outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 5–9
25 states
3 of 25 shown
The line runs through
25 states
3 of 25 shown
Annual Lespedeza’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 5–9
1 state
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Annual Lespedeza
Growing guides for annual lespedeza
In rotation planning, annual lespedeza counts as a Legume — beds recover best when legume crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in cover crop
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — annual lespedeza isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Annual Lespedeza offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Annual Lespedeza's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Annual Lespedeza will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether annual lespedeza actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Annual Lespedeza
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Annual Lespedeza in my zone?
Annual Lespedeza grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Annual Lespedeza take to grow?
Annual Lespedeza is ready to harvest about 120 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Annual Lespedeza?
Most growers plant annual lespedeza after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 120-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Annual Lespedeza need?
Annual Lespedeza needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Annual Lespedeza need?
Annual Lespedeza prefers soil pH 5 to 8, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Annual Lespedeza attract pollinators?
Yes — annual lespedeza's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Annual Lespedeza safe for pets?
Annual Lespedeza is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Annual Lespedeza
Annual Lespedeza state by state
Every state annual lespedeza's zone reaches — 21 link straight to that state's annual lespedeza growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.