Conditional — Some Areas
black pepper vine (zones 10-12) reaches only part of Arizona (5b-10b): zone 10 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Black Pepper Vine in Arizona — the short answer
Black Pepper Vine in Arizona: hardy in zones 10–12, full sun, against a state median of ~266 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 10-12
- 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
- Arizona zones
- 5b-10b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 1 - Apr 2 – Nov 13 - Dec 12
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 150 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 365 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.
Arizona spans zones 5b-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 black pepper vine 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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Arizona is not one climate
A single Arizona answer averages 15 counties whose growing seasons are 195 days apart — from 150 frost-free days in Coconino County to 345 in Maricopa County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what black pepper vine can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 15 counties runs 207–316 days, with a median of 266 days — a 195-day span end to end.
Measured across 15 Arizona 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 Black Pepper Vine Stands in Arizona
Black Pepper Vine is rated for zones 10–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No Arizona county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Arizona winters, not about black pepper vine.
Below the zone 10 floor
15 counties
- Coconino County · zone 6a
- Apache County · zone 6b
- Navajo County · zone 7a
3 of 15 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.
Zone Comparison
Black Pepper Vine Needs
- USDA Zones: 10-12
- Frost-Free Days: 180+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 15 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Arizona Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-10b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 1 - Apr 2
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 13 - Dec 12
- Annual Rainfall: 3-25 inches
- Common Soils: Caliche, Sandy loam, Desert pavement
Plant Zone Range (zones 10-12)
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 Black Pepper Vine in Arizona
The frost window
Across Arizona, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 1 and Apr 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 13 and Dec 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 225-day window you can count on — up to 314 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.
Winter standing
Arizona runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for black pepper vine, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether black pepper vine is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Arizona; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
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 black pepper vine survives winter in part of Arizona, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Black Pepper Vine wants 180+ frost-free days; a typical Arizona site sees ~266 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Black Pepper Vine needs ~5000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~3945 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Arizona's typical season runs short on heat — pick a south-facing site and consider season extension.
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
Black Pepper Vine likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7.5). That's the common-ground band across Arizona's caliche and sandy loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Arizona soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Arizona 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. Arizona soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant black pepper vine 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 black pepper vine goes in. What follows is Arizona’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 Arizona — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Arizona — 32,297 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 184 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Arizona 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 Arizona
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Arizona, two things run higher than the national average across Arizona — Mining (6,160 sites) and Nitrate (11,388 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.
Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.
Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.
Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.
Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Black Pepper Vine in Arizona
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Arizona growers also need to think about:
Extreme heat exceeding 110F stresses most plants
Minimal rainfall requires drip irrigation
Caliche hardpan prevents root penetration without breaking through
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arizona grower, not just black pepper vine — is covered on the Arizona growing guide.
Timing shifts within Arizona
Black Pepper Vine needs about 180 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Navajo County at 192 frost-free days — 12 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.
Across Arizona’s 15 counties the frost-free season runs from 150 days in Coconino County to 345 days in Maricopa County — a spread of 195 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Arizona county sees 266 frost-free days, leaving black pepper vine about 86 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"). Black Pepper Vine's 180-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
Black Pepper Vine draws native bees (low value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, black pepper vine can only work that bloom inside Arizona's frost window — roughly 266 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 1 - Apr 2) and closing at the first (Nov 13 - Dec 12), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
For Arizona-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for black pepper vine, the canonical source is University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Black Pepper Vine in Arizona
When can I plant Black Pepper Vine in Arizona?
Arizona's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 1 and Apr 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 13 and Dec 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Black Pepper Vine, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Arizona and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Black Pepper Vine grown in across Arizona?
Arizona spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Black Pepper Vine carries a range of zones 10-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Arizona site have?
A typical Arizona site sees ~266 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Black Pepper Vine needs 180+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
How should I amend the soil for Black Pepper Vine in Arizona?
Black Pepper Vine prefers pH 5-7.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Arizona soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Black Pepper Vine actually grow on my specific land in Arizona?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores black pepper vine 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 Arizona
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores black pepper vine against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arizona black pepper vine averages can't show:
We read public map data around Arizona — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Arizona black pepper vine average
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