Conditional — Some Areas
desert willow (zones 7-9) reaches only part of Maine (3b-7a): zone 7 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
One zone short — what would close it
Desert Willow is hardy to zone 7, and the warmest ground in Maine is zone 6 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Maine winter. To grow it here, grow desert willow in a hoop house or unheated greenhouse — its modeled 1.5-zone lift covers this gap.
A hoop house or unheated greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →
Zone math from 7-9 (plant) against 3-6 (Maine). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Desert Willow in Maine — the short answer
Desert Willow in Maine: hardy in zones 7–9, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 7-9
- Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 7a–11b
- Maine zones
- 3b-7a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 16 - May 3 – Oct 10 - Oct 24
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 143 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.
Maine spans zones 3b-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 desert willow 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.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
Maine is not one climate
Maine’s winter-low ladder runs across 16 counties, from zone 4 in Aroostook County to zone 6 in Lincoln County. That is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between desert willow overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 16 counties runs 4.5–5.5 zones, with a median of 5.5 zones — a 2-zone span end to end.
Measured across 16 Maine 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 Desert Willow Stands in Maine
Desert Willow is rated for zones 7–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. No Maine 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 Maine winters, not about desert willow.
Below the zone 7 floor
16 counties
- Aroostook County · zone 4a
- Franklin County · zone 4b
- Piscataquis County · zone 4b
3 of 16 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.
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
Desert Willow Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-9
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 25 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: High
Maine Has
- USDA Zones: 3b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 16 - May 3
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 24
- Annual Rainfall: 36-50 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Sandy loam, Rocky loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-9)
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 Desert Willow in Maine
The frost window
Across Maine, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 16 and May 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 24 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 160-day window you can count on — up to 191 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
Maine runs as cold as USDA zone 3, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for desert willow, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether desert willow is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Maine; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Piscataquis County, not the statewide average.
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 desert willow survives winter in part of Maine, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Chill hours
Desert Willow requires ~200 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). Maine 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
Desert Willow likes near-neutral soil (pH 6.6-8.5). That's the common-ground band across Maine's glacial till and sandy loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 7 and 8 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Maine soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage requirement: excessive (dry/moderately dry). A soil-survey lookup (NRCS SSURGO) flags whether your specific site matches. pH range, preferred pH and drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Your land, not the state average
Maine soil pH runs about 4.3–5.0, and that sits below desert willow's tolerated 6.6–8.5, so the typical Maine parcel needs lime before it will perform. SSURGO maps it swinging by full points parcel to parcel, so your map unit, not the state number, decides whether desert willow needs lime or sulfur.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
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. Maine soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Desert Willow in Maine
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Maine growers also need to think about:
Very short growing season (100-140 frost-free days)
Rocky glacial soils require significant clearing
Harsh winters with heavy snow and ice
Growing desert willow here specifically
Desert Willow needs near-neutral ground (pH 6.6–8.5); Maine's dominant SSURGO pH sits near 4.7, acidic enough to stunt it without correction.
Add lime to bring your parcel up toward pH 6.6–8.5, then retest before setting desert willow out. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Maine grower, not just desert willow — is covered on the Maine growing guide.
Timing shifts within Maine
Maine isn't one climate. In Piscataquis County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 15 — roughly 23 days later than the recorded state median — so plant desert willow to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Maine Desert Willow Is Zone-Hardy
Desert Willow is rated for USDA zones 7–9. No Maine county reaches it. Even Lincoln County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 6a, sits below the plant’s zone 7 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.
Across those 16 counties Maine’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4a in Aroostook County to zone 6a in Lincoln County — 2 USDA zones of spread, which is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band desert willow needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Desert Willow’s zone 7–9 band: Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 7a–11b. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Desert Willow draws native bees and hummingbirds. Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, desert willow can only work that bloom inside Maine's frost window — roughly 182 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 16 - May 3) and closing at the first (Oct 10 - Oct 24), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Maine Cooperative Extension
For Maine-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for desert willow, the canonical source is UMaine Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Desert Willow native to Maine?
Desert Willow is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Maine. It can still earn a place in a Maine garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Maine growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Maine 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 Desert Willow in Maine
When can I plant Desert Willow in Maine?
Maine's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 16 and May 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 24 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Desert Willow, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Maine 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 Desert Willow grown in across Maine?
Maine spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Desert Willow carries a range of zones 7-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Maine site have?
A typical Maine site sees ~182 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Desert Willow needs 180+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Piscataquis, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Desert Willow native to Maine?
Desert Willow is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Maine. It can still earn a place in a Maine garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Desert Willow in Maine?
Desert Willow prefers pH 6.6-8.5 and excessive (dry/moderately dry) drainage. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. That sits in the common-ground band across Maine soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Desert Willow actually grow on my specific land in Maine?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores desert willow 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 Maine
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores desert willow against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Maine desert willow averages can't show:
We read public map data around Maine — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Maine desert willow average
Explore More
Growing guides for desert willow
Explore Maine county by county
Maine carries 16 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for desert willow there:
Where else desert willow grows
Desert Willow's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Maine 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 Maine
Maine has a growing page for 807 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
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