Brass Buttons is a cover crop — grown to build and protect the soil rather than for a harvest of its own. It's hardy across USDA zones 4 through 10, shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a modest draw for native bees.
Zones
4-10
pH Range
5.5-7
Sun
Part Sun
Days to Maturity
---
Score Brass Buttons on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether brass buttons actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score brass buttons against your land's real conditions.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
See Brass Buttons
What Brass Buttons is
Brass Buttons grows as a perennial and reaches around 2 inches at maturity. It blooms yellow in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Brass Buttons
Brass Buttons grows in USDA zones 4 through 10. Brass Buttons does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
4-10
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.5 - 7
USDA PLANTS Database
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
0.2 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 brass buttons in part sun with at least 4 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
Brass Buttons prefers pH 5.5 to 7 (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.
Turn it in before it seeds
Cut brass buttons down or turn it into the soil before it sets seed, while the growth is still green — that's when it returns the most to the ground.
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — brass buttons isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Brass Buttons offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Where Brass Buttons thrives
Brass Buttons is hardy across USDA zones 4 through 10. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
Zones 4–10·Where Brass Buttons growsOpen map →
On USDA hardiness-zone overlap, Brass Buttons can grow in these states:
See if Brass Buttons will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether brass buttons 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.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I grow Brass Buttons in my zone?
Brass Buttons grows in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 10 (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 Brass Buttons?
Brass Buttons 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 Brass Buttons need?
Brass Buttons does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Brass Buttons need?
Brass Buttons prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Brass Buttons attract pollinators?
Yes — brass buttons's flowers are a modest nectar source for native bees.
Is Brass Buttons safe for pets?
Brass Buttons is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)