Conditional — Some Areas
cloudberry (zones 2-5) reaches only part of Ohio (5b-7a): zone 5 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Cloudberry in Ohio — the short answer
Cloudberry in Ohio: hardy in zones 2–5, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 2-5
- Not verified
- Ohio zones
- 5b-7a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 5 - Apr 13 – Oct 31 - Nov 6
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 182 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.
Ohio spans zones 5b-7a, 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 cloudberry 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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Ohio is not one climate
Ohio’s winter-low ladder runs across 88 counties, from zone 6 in Allen County to zone 7 in Scioto County. That is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between cloudberry overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 88 counties runs 6–6.5 zones, with a median of 6.5 zones — a 1-zone span end to end.
Measured across 88 Ohio 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 Cloudberry Stands in Ohio
Cloudberry is rated for zones 2–5 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. No Ohio county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Ohio winters, not about cloudberry.
Above the zone 5 ceiling
88 counties
- Allen County · zone 6a
- Ashland County · zone 6a
- Auglaize County · zone 6a
3 of 88 shown
Warmer than the zone 5 end of its range.
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.
Zone Comparison
Cloudberry Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-5
- Sun: Full SunWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Mature size: 6 in tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Picking window: ~28 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Ohio Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 5 - Apr 13
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 31 - Nov 6
- Annual Rainfall: 34-42 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Clay loam, Silt loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-5)
Preferred Soil pH
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
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 Cloudberry in Ohio
The frost window
Across Ohio, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 201-day window you can count on — up to 215 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
Ohio runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for cloudberry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether cloudberry is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Ohio; 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.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Cloudberry tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-7.8) — 3.3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Ohio. 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 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Ohio soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Ohio site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. pH range, preferred pH and drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
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. Ohio soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant cloudberry 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 cloudberry goes in. What follows is Ohio’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 Ohio — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Ohio — 31,559 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 669 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Ohio 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 of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Ohio
Severity Distribution
across Ohio
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Ohio, Toxics Release Inventory runs higher than the national average — 4,234 sites across Ohio. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.
Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Cloudberry in Ohio
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Ohio growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils across much of northern Ohio require amendment for drainage
Variable spring weather with late frost risk through mid-May
Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms are common garden pests
Wet springs can delay planting and promote root rot
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Ohio grower, not just cloudberry — is covered on the Ohio growing guide.
Where in Ohio Cloudberry Is Zone-Hardy
Cloudberry is rated for USDA zones 2–5. Every Ohio county sits above it. Even Allen County, the state’s coldest at zone 6a, is milder than the plant’s zone 5 ceiling — the constraint here is winter chill it will not get, not cold it cannot take.
Across those 88 counties Ohio’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6a in Allen County to zone 7a in Scioto County — 1 USDA zone of spread, which is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band cloudberry needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Cloudberry’s zone 2–5 band: Not verified. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Cloudberry draws native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, cloudberry can only work that bloom inside Ohio's frost window — roughly 208 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 5 - Apr 13) and closing at the first (Oct 31 - Nov 6), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Ohio Cooperative Extension
For Ohio-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for cloudberry, the canonical source is Ohio State University Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Cloudberry native to Ohio?
Cloudberry is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Ohio. It can still earn a place in a Ohio garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Ohio growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Ohio and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Cloudberry in Ohio
When can I plant Cloudberry in Ohio?
Ohio's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Cloudberry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Ohio 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 Cloudberry grown in across Ohio?
Ohio spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Cloudberry carries a range of zones 2-5, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Ohio site have?
A typical Ohio site sees ~208 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Cloudberry needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Cloudberry native to Ohio?
Cloudberry is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Ohio. It can still earn a place in a Ohio garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Cloudberry in Ohio?
Cloudberry tolerates pH 4.5-7.8 and well (dry spells) drainage. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. That is a 3.3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Ohio site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Cloudberry actually grow on my specific land in Ohio?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores cloudberry against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Ohio
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores cloudberry against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Ohio cloudberry averages can't show:
We read public map data around Ohio — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ohio cloudberry average
Explore More
Growing guides for cloudberry
Explore Ohio county by county
Ohio carries 88 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for cloudberry there:
Where else cloudberry grows
Cloudberry's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Ohio 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 Ohio
Ohio has a growing page for 889 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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