Generally — Most Areas
blue grama is grown in zones 3-10, and zones 8-10 of Hawaii (8b-13a) are in range — most of the state, with the rest the exception.
Blue Grama in Hawaii — the short answer
Blue Grama in Hawaii: grown in zones 3–10, full sun, against a state median of ~365 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 3-10
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Hawaii zones
- 8b-13a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Killing freeze
- None on record
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020
- Shortest county season
- 365 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 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.
Hawaii spans zones 8b-13a, 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 blue grama 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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Hawaii is not one climate
Hawaii’s winter-low ladder runs across 5 counties, from zone 9 in Hawaii County to zone 11.5 in Kalawao County. That is 25°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between blue grama overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 5 counties runs 10–11.5 zones, with a median of 10 zones — a 2.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 5 Hawaii counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. 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 Blue Grama Stands in Hawaii
Blue Grama is rated for zones 3–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. No Hawaii 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 Hawaii winters, not about blue grama.
Above the zone 10 ceiling
2 counties
- Honolulu County · zone 11b-12b
- Kalawao County · zone 11b-12b
Warmer than the zone 10 end of its range.
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
Blue Grama Needs
- USDA Zones: 3-10
- Frost-Free Days: 90+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 1 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: High
Hawaii Has
- USDA Zones: 8b-13a
- Hard Freeze (28°F): None on record — year-round season
- Annual Rainfall: 10-400 inches
- Common Soils: Volcanic, Laterite, Coral sand
Plant Zone Range (zones 3-10)
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 Blue Grama in Hawaii
The frost window
Hawaii has none — the 1991-2020 station record carries no 28°F killing freeze, so there is no last-frost date to plant after and no first-frost date to harvest before (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record). The growing season is year-round; what paces planting here is rainfall, heat and elevation, not the calendar.
Frost tenderness
Blue Grama is killed by cold below 32°F (FAO ECOCROP), which simply does not bind at low and mid elevation here. It does bind upslope: Hawaii's summit country genuinely freezes, and no station up there carries a long enough daily record for us to date it.
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
Blue Grama is grown in zones 3–10, which covers part of Hawaii (8b-13a), not all of it. We have no sourced winter-survival figure for blue grama, so this page does not say whether it overwinters here. Hawaii's typical season runs ~365 frost-free days against the ~90 blue grama needs.
Frost-free days
Blue Grama wants 90+ frost-free days; a typical Hawaii site sees ~365 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 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 station record, 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
Blue Grama tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8.5) — 4 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Hawaii. 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 Hawaii soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry). If your Hawaii site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
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. Hawaii soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Blue Grama in Hawaii
The zone range tells you where blue grama is grown — but Hawaii growers also need to think about:
Extreme rainfall variation — desert on one side, rainforest on the other
Volcanic soil is nutrient-poor in young flows
Invasive species pressure is severe
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Hawaii grower, not just blue grama — is covered on the Hawaii growing guide.
Timing shifts within Hawaii
Blue Grama needs about 90 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Hawaii County — Hawaii’s shortest season at 365 frost-free days — clears that by 275 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Hawaii. What varies is your own parcel.
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"). Blue Grama's 90-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Hawaii Cooperative Extension
For Hawaii-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for blue grama, the canonical source is UH Mānoa CTAHR Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Blue Grama native to Hawaii?
Blue Grama is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Hawaii. It can still earn a place in a Hawaii garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Hawaii growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Hawaii and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Blue Grama in Hawaii
When can I plant Blue Grama in Hawaii?
Any month — Hawaii records no 28°F killing freeze in the 1991-2020 station record, so there is no last-frost date to wait for and the growing season is year-round (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record). Pace planting by rainfall, heat and elevation instead: the summit country does freeze, and no station up there carries a long enough record to date it.
What hardiness zone is Blue Grama grown in across Hawaii?
Hawaii spans USDA hardiness zones 8b-13a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Blue Grama carries a range of zones 3-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Hawaii site have?
A typical Hawaii site sees ~365 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020). Blue Grama needs 90+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Blue Grama native to Hawaii?
Blue Grama is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Hawaii. It can still earn a place in a Hawaii garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Blue Grama in Hawaii?
Blue Grama tolerates pH 4.5-8.5 and well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Hawaii site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Blue Grama actually grow on my specific land in Hawaii?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores blue grama against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Hawaii
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores blue grama against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Hawaii blue grama averages can't show:
We read public map data around Hawaii — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Hawaii blue grama average
Explore More
Growing guides for blue grama
Explore Hawaii county by county
Hawaii carries 5 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for blue grama there:
Where else blue grama grows
Blue Grama's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Hawaii 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 Hawaii
Hawaii has a growing page for 789 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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