Generally — Most Areas
canna lily (indica) (zones 7-11) suits most of North Carolina (6a-9a) — zones 7-9 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina — the short answer
Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina: hardy in zones 7–11, full sun, against a state median of ~245 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 7-11
- 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
- North Carolina zones
- 6a-9a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 11 - Mar 24 – Nov 10 - Nov 25
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 178 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.
North Carolina spans zones 6a-9a, 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 canna lily indica 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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North Carolina is not one climate
A single North Carolina answer averages 100 counties whose growing seasons are 125 days apart — from 178 frost-free days in Swain County to 303 in Dare County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what canna lily indica can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 100 counties runs 230–257 days, with a median of 245 days — a 125-day span end to end.
Measured across 100 North Carolina 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 North Carolina Fits Best
Canna Lily Indica is rated for zones 7–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. Against North Carolina’s 100 counties that band holds in 96 of them, and the line runs at Alleghany County (zone 7a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 7–11
96 counties
- Ashe County · zone 7a
- Haywood County · zone 7a
- Madison County · zone 7a
3 of 96 shown
Below the zone 7 floor
4 counties
- Avery County · zone 6b
- Swain County · zone 6b
- Watauga County · zone 6b
3 of 4 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.
Even within North Carolina's zones 6a-9a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for canna lily indica (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Canna Lily Indica Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-11
- Sun: Full Sun
- Picking window: ~60 days of harvest
North Carolina Has
- USDA Zones: 6a-9a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 11 - Mar 24
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 10 - Nov 25
- Annual Rainfall: 40-60 inches
- Common Soils: Red clay (Piedmont), Sandy loam (Coastal), Mountain loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-11)
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 Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina
The frost window
Across North Carolina, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 11 and Mar 24, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 10 and Nov 25 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 231-day window you can count on — up to 259 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.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when canna lily indica goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 8 weeks ahead, so counting back from North Carolina's late-side last freeze of Mar 24 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
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
Canna Lily Indica tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in North Carolina. 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 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a North Carolina soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your North Carolina 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. North Carolina soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant canna lily indica 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 canna lily indica goes in. What follows is North Carolina’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 North Carolina — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across North Carolina — 45,236 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 464 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
North Carolina 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.
Sources Checked
across North Carolina
Severity Distribution
across North Carolina
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around North Carolina, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 28,735 sites across North Carolina. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.
Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.
Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but North Carolina growers also need to think about:
Red Piedmont clay is hard to work and drains poorly
Humidity drives significant disease pressure
Hurricane risk on the coastal plain
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every North Carolina grower, not just canna lily indica — is covered on the North Carolina growing guide.
Where in North Carolina Canna Lily Indica Is Zone-Hardy
Canna Lily Indica is rated for USDA zones 7–11. 96 of North Carolina’s 100 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Alleghany County at zone 7a. 4 counties sit below the plant’s zone 7 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in North Carolina decides this one.
Across those 100 counties North Carolina’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6b in Avery County to zone 9a in Dare County — 2.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 25°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. Swain County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 27, while Dare County is clear by Feb 18 — 68 days apart. Set canna lily indica 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". Canna Lily Indica’s zone 7–11 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Canna Lily Indica draws hummingbirds and native bees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, canna lily indica can only work that bloom inside North Carolina's frost window — roughly 245 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 11 - Mar 24) and closing at the first (Nov 10 - Nov 25), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
For North Carolina-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for canna lily indica, the canonical source is NC State Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina
When can I plant Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina?
North Carolina's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 11 and Mar 24, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 10 and Nov 25 (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 Canna Lily Indica grown in across North Carolina?
North Carolina spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-9a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Canna Lily Indica carries a range of zones 7-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical North Carolina site have?
A typical North Carolina site sees ~245 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Canna Lily Indica 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.
How should I amend the soil for Canna Lily Indica in North Carolina?
Canna Lily Indica tolerates pH 5-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a North Carolina site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Canna Lily Indica actually grow on my specific land in North Carolina?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores canna lily indica 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 North Carolina
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores canna lily indica against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that North Carolina canna lily indica averages can't show:
We read public map data around North Carolina — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the North Carolina canna lily indica average
Explore More
Growing guides for canna lily indica
Explore North Carolina county by county
North Carolina carries 100 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for canna lily indica there:
Where else canna lily indica grows
Canna Lily Indica's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to North Carolina 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 North Carolina
North Carolina has a growing page for 1,020 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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