Generally — Most Areas
autumn fern (zones 6-8) suits most of Texas (6b-10b) — zones 6-8 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Autumn Fern in Texas — the short answer
Autumn Fern in Texas: hardy in zones 6–8, part sun, against a state median of ~274 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 6-8
- 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
- Texas zones
- 6b-10b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 10 - Mar 12 – Nov 18 - Dec 4
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 197 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.
Texas spans zones 6b-10b, 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 autumn fern against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
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Texas is not one climate
A single Texas answer averages 254 counties whose growing seasons are 146 days apart — from 197 frost-free days in Dallam County to 343 in Kenedy County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what autumn fern can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 254 counties runs 252–297 days, with a median of 274 days — a 146-day span end to end.
Measured across 254 Texas 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 Texas Fits Best
Autumn Fern is rated for zones 6–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -10 to 0°F. Against Texas’s 254 counties that band holds in 107 of them, and the line runs at Dallam County (zone 6b), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 6–8
107 counties
- Lipscomb County · zone 6b
- Armstrong County · zone 7a
- Bailey County · zone 7a
3 of 107 shown
Above the zone 8 ceiling
147 counties
- Anderson County · zone 8b
- Bandera County · zone 8b
- Bell County · zone 8b
3 of 147 shown
Too little winter chill rather than too much cold — a low-chill selection is what changes it.
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 Texas's zones 6b-10b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for autumn fern (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Autumn Fern Needs
- USDA Zones: 6-8
- Sun: Part Sun
- Mature size: 2 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Texas Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-10b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 10 - Mar 12
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 18 - Dec 4
- Annual Rainfall: 8-56 inches
- Common Soils: Black clay (Blackland Prairie), Sandy loam, Caliche
Plant Zone Range (zones 6-8)
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 Autumn Fern in Texas
The frost window
Across Texas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 10 and Mar 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 18 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 251-day window you can count on — up to 297 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 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
Drainage requirement: poorly (saturated >50% of year). A soil-survey lookup (NRCS SSURGO) flags whether your specific site matches.
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. Texas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Autumn Fern in Texas
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Texas growers also need to think about:
Extreme heat (100F+ days) stresses many crops from June through September
Rainfall varies dramatically — 8 inches in west TX to 56 inches in east TX
Heavy black clay (Blackland Prairie) is difficult to work and drains poorly
Flash drought conditions can develop rapidly even in wet years
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Texas grower, not just autumn fern — is covered on the Texas growing guide.
Where in Texas Autumn Fern Is Zone-Hardy
Autumn Fern is rated for USDA zones 6–8. 107 of Texas’s 254 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Dallam County at zone 6b. 147 counties sit above its zone 8 ceiling, where the limit is too little winter chill rather than too much cold. Where you are in Texas decides this one.
Across those 254 counties Texas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6b in Dallam County to zone 10a in Willacy County — 3.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 35°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. Dallam County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 12, while Kenedy County is clear by Jan 14 — 88 days apart. Set autumn fern 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". Autumn Fern’s zone 6–8 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Texas Cooperative Extension
For Texas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for autumn fern, the canonical source is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Autumn Fern in Texas
When can I plant Autumn Fern in Texas?
Texas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 10 and Mar 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 18 and Dec 4 (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 Autumn Fern grown in across Texas?
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Autumn Fern carries a range of zones 6-8, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Texas site have?
A typical Texas site sees ~274 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Autumn Fern 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.
Will Autumn Fern actually grow on my specific land in Texas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores autumn fern 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 Texas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores autumn fern against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Texas autumn fern averages can't show:
We read public map data around Texas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Texas autumn fern average
Explore More
Growing guides for autumn fern
Explore Texas county by county
Texas carries 254 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for autumn fern there:
Where else autumn fern grows
Autumn Fern's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Texas 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 Texas
Texas has a growing page for 1,041 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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