Yes — Strong Match
chelone (zones 3-8) covers every zone Arkansas contains (6b-8b), so hardiness is not what limits it anywhere in the state.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Arkansas spans zones 6b-8b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score chelone against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
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Zone Comparison
Chelone Needs
- USDA Zones: 3-8
- Sun: Part Sun
- Mature size: 3 ft tall
- Picking window: ~30 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Low
Arkansas Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-8b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 2 - Mar 20
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 15 - Nov 23
- Annual Rainfall: 44-56 inches
- Common Soils: Silt loam, Sandy loam, Red clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 3-8)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: USDA PLANTS Database / Growable Ground plant catalog. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Chelone in Arkansas
The frost window
Across Arkansas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 240-day window you can count on — up to 266 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
Arkansas runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for chelone, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether chelone is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Arkansas; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: USDA PLANTS Database. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Chelone likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7). That's the common-ground band across Arkansas's silt loam and sandy loam — 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 Arkansas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage requirement: poorly (saturated >50% of year). A soil-survey lookup (NRCS SSURGO) flags whether your specific site matches.
Plant pH and drainage requirements from USDA PLANTS Database. Arkansas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Chelone in Arkansas — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Yes — Strong Match
- Plant Zones: 3-8 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Mar 2 - Mar 20 to Nov 15 - Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Chelone in Arkansas
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Arkansas growers also need to think about:
Hot, humid summers drive fungal and bacterial diseases
Heavy clay soils in parts of the Ozarks
Severe spring storms and hail risk
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arkansas grower, not just chelone — is covered on the Arkansas growing guide.
Where in Arkansas Chelone Is Zone-Hardy
Chelone is rated for USDA zones 3–8. 62 of Arkansas’s 75 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Benton County at zone 7a. 13 counties sit above its zone 8 ceiling, where the limit is too little winter chill rather than too much cold. Where you are in Arkansas decides this one.
Across those 75 counties Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7a in Benton County to zone 8b in Union County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°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. Carroll County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Mar 26, while Chicot County is clear by Feb 19 — 35 days apart. Set chelone 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". Chelone’s zone 3–8 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Where in Arkansas Fits Best
Even within Arkansas's zones 6b-8b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for chelone (USDA PHZM 2023):
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Chelone draws native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, chelone can only work that bloom inside Arkansas's frost window — roughly 254 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 2 - Mar 20) and closing at the first (Nov 15 - Nov 23), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Arkansas Cooperative Extension
For Arkansas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for chelone, the canonical source is University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Chelone native to Arkansas?
Chelone is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Arkansas. It can still earn a place in a Arkansas garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Arkansas growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
Common Questions About Growing Chelone in Arkansas
When can I plant Chelone in Arkansas?
Arkansas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Chelone, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Arkansas 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 Chelone grown in across Arkansas?
Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Chelone carries a range of zones 3-8, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Arkansas site have?
A typical Arkansas site sees ~254 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Chelone 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.
Is Chelone native to Arkansas?
Chelone is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Arkansas. It can still earn a place in a Arkansas garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Chelone in Arkansas?
Chelone prefers pH 5-7 and poorly (saturated >50% of year) drainage (Growable Ground Plant Database). That sits in the common-ground band across Arkansas soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Chelone actually grow on my specific land in Arkansas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores chelone 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 Arkansas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores chelone against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arkansas chelone averages can't show:
We read public map data around Arkansas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Growing guides for chelone
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