Crowfoot Grass is an annual grown for its grain. Season length, not a winter zone, decides where it grows. Notably, it grows just as well in a container as in the ground. As a grass, give it a fresh bed each year — away from where its relatives just grew — so the soil-borne pests and diseases of the family never get a foothold.
Crowfoot Grass — the short answer
Crowfoot Grass: grown in zones 8–12, full sun, pH 6–8.3.
- USDA zones
- Grown as an annual — see the growing season
- Growing season, not a hardiness zone
- Soil pH
- 6–8.3
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Crowfoot Grass on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether crowfoot grass actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score crowfoot grass against your land's real conditions.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
See Crowfoot Grass
What Crowfoot Grass is
Crowfoot Grass grows as an annual. It's also well suited to containers.
How to grow Crowfoot Grass
Season length, not a winter zone, decides where crowfoot grass grows. Crowfoot Grass does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6 to 8.3, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 90 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
Grown as an annual — see the growing season
Soil pH
6 - 8.3
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
50°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Frost-Free Days
90+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant crowfoot grass in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Crowfoot Grass prefers pH 6 to 8.3 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Harvest once the heads are dry and the grain has gone hard. Local Cooperative Extension guides publish timing tables.
Where Crowfoot Grass thrives
Season length, not a winter zone, decides where crowfoot grass grows. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 8–12 spans average winter lows from 10°F to 60°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 2 outright and splits 26 more down the middle.
Zones 8–12·Hardiness bandOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Crowfoot Grass stands, state by state
Crowfoot Grass is rated for zones 8–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 2 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 26 more, and 23 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
26 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- Idaho · zones 3b-8a
- California · zones 4b-11a
3 of 26 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Crowfoot Grass
Growing guides for crowfoot grass
In rotation planning, crowfoot grass counts as a Grass — beds recover best when grass crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in vegetable
Good to know
Crowfoot Grass isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data — pair it with high-value bloomers nearby to feed bees.
Before you harvest crowfoot grass, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant crowfoot grass for food. Our free screen reads 8 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Crowfoot Grass's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Crowfoot Grass will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether crowfoot grass actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Crowfoot Grass
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Crowfoot Grass in my zone?
Crowfoot Grass is grown as an annual, so a hardiness zone does not decide it — its growing season follows your last and first frost dates. Soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Crowfoot Grass?
Most growers plant crowfoot grass after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 90-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Crowfoot Grass need?
Crowfoot Grass needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Crowfoot Grass need?
Crowfoot Grass prefers soil pH 6 to 8.3, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Crowfoot Grass attract pollinators?
Crowfoot Grass isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data. Pairing it with high-value bloomers nearby keeps bees and butterflies fed.
Keep exploring Crowfoot Grass
Crowfoot Grass state by state
Every state crowfoot grass's zone reaches — 11 link straight to that state's crowfoot grass growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.