Black Cohosh is a perennial medicinal herb, long valued for its traditional uses. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8 and stands up to deer.
Black Cohosh — the short answer
Black Cohosh: grown in zones 3–8, shade, pH 5–7.5.
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- 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
- Soil pH
- 5–7.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Shade
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temperature
- -30°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.
Score Black Cohosh on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether black cohosh actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score black cohosh against your land's real conditions.
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What Black Cohosh is
Black Cohosh grows as a perennial and reaches around six feet at maturity. It blooms white in summer. It's also deer-resistant.
How to grow Black Cohosh
Black Cohosh grows in USDA zones 3 through 8. Black Cohosh does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground.
USDA Zones
3-8
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 7.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
-30°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
Mature Height
6 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
0+
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 black cohosh in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Black Cohosh prefers pH 5 to 7.5 (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.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Harvest the part you grow black cohosh for — flower, leaf, or root — at its seasonal peak.
Where Black Cohosh thrives
Black Cohosh is hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8. 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 3–8 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 34 outright and splits 17 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–8·Where Black Cohosh growsOpen map →
Where Black Cohosh stands, state by state
Black Cohosh is rated for zones 3–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 34 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 17 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–8
34 states
3 of 34 shown
The line runs through
17 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 17 shown
Black Cohosh’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.
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 Black Cohosh
Growing guides for black cohosh
In rotation planning, black cohosh counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
One caution for pet owners — black cohosh is toxic to dogs and cats (mild severity). Keep it out of reach, and call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 in an emergency. (Source: ASPCA.)
Before you harvest black cohosh, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant black cohosh for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Black Cohosh'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 Black Cohosh will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether black cohosh 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 Black Cohosh
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 Black Cohosh in my zone?
Black Cohosh grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Black Cohosh?
Black Cohosh is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Black Cohosh need?
Black Cohosh is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does Black Cohosh need?
Black Cohosh prefers soil pH 5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Is Black Cohosh safe for pets?
Black Cohosh is toxic to pets (dogs,cats) with mild severity. Keep it out of reach, and call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 in an emergency. (Source: ASPCA.)