Yes — Strong Match
chamomile (zones 2-8) covers every zone Vermont contains (4a-6a), so hardiness is not what limits it anywhere in the state.
Chamomile in Vermont — the short answer
Chamomile in Vermont: hardy in zones 2–8, full sun, against a state median of ~163 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 2-8
- 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
- Vermont zones
- 4a-6a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 27 - May 5 – Oct 10 - Oct 17
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 146 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 70 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.
Chamomile is grown as an annual, so your winter zone isn't the deciding factor — your frost-free window is. A typical Vermont site runs ~163 frost-free days, but that is a state median, not your yard: slope, trees, and low spots move the last-frost date across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score chamomile against your land's actual frost dates, sun, and soil.
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Vermont is not one climate
A single Vermont answer averages 14 counties whose growing seasons are 44 days apart — from 146 frost-free days in Essex County to 190 in Grand Isle County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what chamomile can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 14 counties runs 158–173 days, with a median of 161 days — a 44-day span end to end.
Measured across 14 Vermont 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 Vermont Fits Best
Even within Vermont's zones 4a-6a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for chamomile (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Chamomile Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-8
- Frost-Free Days: 270+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 2 ft tall
- Picking window: ~60 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Vermont Has
- USDA Zones: 4a-6a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 27 - May 5
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 17
- Annual Rainfall: 34-44 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Clay, Silt loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-8)
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 Chamomile in Vermont
The frost window
Across Vermont, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 27 and May 5, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 158-day window you can count on — up to 173 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.
Frost tenderness
Chamomile is frost-tender — FAO ECOCROP puts its killing temperature at 32°F — so set plants out two to three weeks PAST your local last hard freeze, not on it and not on the state's earliest date. The 28°F marker above is when killing freezes stop, not when light frost does. That is the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor — an established perennial comes through far colder while dormant, which is what its hardiness zone tells you.
When to start the seed
Chamomile is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Vermont's dates above are the whole calendar for it. That makes the last-freeze date the binding constraint, and a warmer pocket of your own yard is worth more to this crop than it is to a transplanted one.
Days to maturity vs. the window
At 70 days to maturity (Growable Ground Plant Database), counting from the last hard freeze it ripens with 88 days to spare even in Vermont's tightest freeze scenario — room for a later start or a second sowing.
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 chamomile survives winter here. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Chamomile wants 270+ frost-free days; a typical Vermont site sees ~163 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020) — 107 days short of what it needs. A typical Vermont season does not carry this crop to harvest outdoors, and a gap that size is not one an earlier sowing date or a faster cultivar closes; growing it here means growing it under cover.
Growing degree days
Chamomile needs ~1000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~1746 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Vermont's typical season clears that easily.
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
Chamomile likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7). That's the common-ground band across Vermont's glacial till and clay — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Vermont soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Vermont 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. Vermont soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant chamomile 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 chamomile goes in. What follows is Vermont’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 Vermont — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Vermont — 6,987 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 41 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Vermont 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 Vermont
Severity Distribution
across Vermont
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
- •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
- •Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
- •On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Chamomile in Vermont
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Vermont growers also need to think about:
Short growing season (100-130 frost-free days)
Rocky soils throughout the Green Mountains
Heavy clay in the Champlain Valley
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Vermont grower, not just chamomile — is covered on the Vermont growing guide.
Timing shifts within Vermont
Chamomile needs about 270 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. No Vermont county gives it that outdoors: even Grand Isle County, the state’s longest season at 190 frost-free days, falls 80 days short — so it needs transplants, a short-season variety, or covered growing.
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"). Chamomile's 270-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
Chamomile draws honeybees, native bees, and butterflies (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, chamomile can only work that bloom inside Vermont's frost window — roughly 163 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 27 - May 5) and closing at the first (Oct 10 - Oct 17), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Vermont Cooperative Extension
For Vermont-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for chamomile, the canonical source is UVM Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Chamomile in Vermont
When can I plant Chamomile in Vermont?
Vermont's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 27 and May 5, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Chamomile is frost-tender — its killing temperature is 32°F (FAO ECOCROP — the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor) — so wait two to three weeks past your site's last hard freeze, when light frost has also stopped, before planting out.
Can Chamomile mature before first frost in Vermont?
Yes — Chamomile matures in 70 days (Growable Ground Plant Database), and Vermont's dependable hard-freeze-free window runs 158 days (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020), leaving 88 days of margin. Plant once the last hard freeze has passed — two to three weeks later for anything tender — and it ripens ahead of the first fall freeze.
What hardiness zone is Chamomile grown in across Vermont?
Vermont spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Chamomile carries a range of zones 2-8, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Vermont site have?
A typical Vermont site sees ~163 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Chamomile needs 270+ 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 Chamomile in Vermont?
Chamomile prefers pH 5-7 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Vermont soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Chamomile actually grow on my specific land in Vermont?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores chamomile 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 Vermont
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores chamomile against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Vermont chamomile averages can't show:
We read public map data around Vermont — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Vermont chamomile average
Explore More
Growing guides for chamomile
Explore Vermont county by county
Vermont carries 14 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for chamomile there:
Where else chamomile grows
Chamomile's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Vermont 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 Vermont
Vermont has a growing page for 747 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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