Generally — Most Areas
chokecherry (zones 2-7) suits most of New Jersey (6a-8a) — zones 6-7 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Chokecherry in New Jersey — the short answer
Chokecherry in New Jersey: hardy in zones 2–7, full sun, against a state median of ~222 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 2-7
- 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
- New Jersey zones
- 6a-8a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 26 - Apr 4 – Nov 5 - Nov 17
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 196 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 1095 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.
New Jersey spans zones 6a-8a, 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 chokecherry against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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New Jersey is not one climate
New Jersey’s winter-low ladder runs across 21 counties, from zone 6.5 in Morris County to zone 7.5 in Salem County. That is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between chokecherry overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 21 counties runs 7–7 zones, with a median of 7 zones — a 1-zone span end to end.
Measured across 21 New Jersey 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 in New Jersey Fits Best
Chokecherry is rated for zones 2–7 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Against New Jersey’s 21 counties that band holds in 16 of them, and the line runs at Morris County (zone 6b), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 2–7
16 counties
- Sussex County · zone 6b
- Warren County · zone 6b
- Atlantic County · zone 7a
3 of 16 shown
Above the zone 7 ceiling
5 counties
- Cape May County · zone 7b
- Cumberland County · zone 7b
- Gloucester County · zone 7b
3 of 5 shown
Too little winter chill rather than too much cold — a low-chill selection is what changes it.
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 New Jersey's zones 6a-8a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for chokecherry (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Chokecherry Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-7
- Frost-Free Days: 240+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Picking window: ~21 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Medium
New Jersey Has
- USDA Zones: 6a-8a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 26 - Apr 4
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 5 - Nov 17
- Annual Rainfall: 40-50 inches
- Common Soils: Sandy loam (Pine Barrens), Silt loam, Clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-7)
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 Chokecherry in New Jersey
The frost window
Across New Jersey, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 26 and Apr 4, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 215-day window you can count on — up to 236 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
New Jersey runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for chokecherry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether chokecherry is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within New Jersey; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
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 chokecherry survives winter in part of New Jersey, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Chokecherry wants 240+ frost-free days; a typical New Jersey site sees ~222 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020) — 18 days short of what it needs. A typical New Jersey 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.
Chill hours
Chokecherry requires ~800 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). New Jersey typically banks ~2500 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), which keeps this plant on track.
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
Chokecherry tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-7.5) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in New Jersey. 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 6.3 — worth knowing before you decide whether a New Jersey soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your New Jersey 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. New Jersey soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant chokecherry 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 chokecherry goes in. What follows is New Jersey’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 New Jersey — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across New Jersey — 41,663 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 877 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
New Jersey 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 New Jersey
Severity Distribution
across New Jersey
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around New Jersey, Superfund runs higher than the national average — 877 sites across New Jersey. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Chokecherry in New Jersey
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but New Jersey growers also need to think about:
Sandy Pine Barrens soils are nutrient-poor
Urban heat island effects in northern NJ
Deer browse is extreme in suburban areas
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every New Jersey grower, not just chokecherry — is covered on the New Jersey growing guide.
Timing shifts within New Jersey
Chokecherry needs about 240 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 3 of New Jersey’s 21 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Cape May County at 241 frost-free days — 1 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.
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"). Chokecherry's 240-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
Chokecherry draws honeybees, native bees, and butterflies (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, chokecherry can only work that bloom inside New Jersey's frost window — roughly 222 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 26 - Apr 4) and closing at the first (Nov 5 - Nov 17), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
New Jersey Cooperative Extension
For New Jersey-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for chokecherry, the canonical source is Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Chokecherry native to New Jersey?
Yes — the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) documents Chokecherry as native to New Jersey. Planting it supports the pollinators and wildlife that evolved alongside it.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
What pests threaten chokecherry in New Jersey?
Japanese beetle is documented in New Jersey and will find chokecherry, but it is manageable here. What an experienced grower watches for, and does:
Japanese beetle
Worth watchingThe University of Kentucky lists this among the landscape plants Japanese beetles are most likely to attack, and the skeletonized, lace-like leaves can look alarming. But the honest calibration is the University of Minnesota's: a healthy, established tree, shrub or vine tolerates a lot of this feeding without significant, long-term injury — in most cases the damage is cosmetic and will not kill the plant.
What to do: For an established planting the move is to leave it be and keep it watered through the four-to-six-week flight — a vigorous plant outgrows feeding that looks worse than it is. Young or already-stressed plants are the exception and worth hand-protecting: knock beetles into soapy water in the cool of morning, when they are slow. The one thing not to hang is a Japanese beetle trap — University of Kentucky research found the lures pull in far more beetles than they catch.
Documented range: states listed as Japanese-beetle infested · University of Kentucky Entomology, University of Minnesota Extension, National Plant Board
Only pests whose documented range and host relationship both trace to a primary source appear here — so a quiet section means we have nothing sourced to tell you, not that your garden is pest-free.
Common Questions About Growing Chokecherry in New Jersey
When can I plant Chokecherry in New Jersey?
New Jersey's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 26 and Apr 4, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Chokecherry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in New Jersey 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 Chokecherry grown in across New Jersey?
New Jersey spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-8a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Chokecherry carries a range of zones 2-7, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical New Jersey site have?
A typical New Jersey site sees ~222 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Chokecherry needs 240+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Chokecherry native to New Jersey?
Yes — the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) documents Chokecherry as native to New Jersey. Planting it supports the pollinators and wildlife that evolved alongside it.
How should I amend the soil for Chokecherry in New Jersey?
Chokecherry tolerates pH 4.5-7.5 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 New Jersey site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Chokecherry actually grow on my specific land in New Jersey?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores chokecherry 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 New Jersey
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores chokecherry against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that New Jersey chokecherry averages can't show:
We read public map data around New Jersey — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the New Jersey chokecherry average
Explore More
Growing guides for chokecherry
Explore New Jersey county by county
New Jersey carries 21 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for chokecherry there:
Where else chokecherry grows
Chokecherry's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to New Jersey 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 New Jersey
New Jersey has a growing page for 1,020 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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