Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
Ellington curse (zones 9-11) does not overlap with New Jersey's zone range (6a-8a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
One zone short — what would close it
Ellington Curse is hardy to zone 9, and the warmest ground in New Jersey is zone 8 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a New Jersey winter. To grow it here, grow ellington curse 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 9-11 (plant) against 6-8 (New Jersey). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Ellington Curse in New Jersey — the short answer
Ellington Curse in New Jersey: hardy in zones 9–11, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 9-11
- Rated hardy to zone 9 by Cal Poly SelecTree, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: Cal Poly SelecTree (read 2026-10-06).
- 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
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 ellington curse 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
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 ellington curse 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 Ellington Curse Stands in New Jersey
Ellington Curse is rated for zones 9–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 20 to 30°F. No New Jersey 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 New Jersey winters, not about ellington curse.
Below the zone 9 floor
21 counties
- Morris County · zone 6b
- Sussex County · zone 6b
- Warren County · zone 6b
3 of 21 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
Ellington Curse Needs
- USDA Zones: 9-11
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 25 ft tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: HighWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
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 9-11)
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 Ellington Curse 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 ellington curse, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether ellington curse 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.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Morris 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 ellington curse does not survive a New Jersey winter in the ground. The season figures below measure a different question — whether it could finish a season here at all — and they only bear on New Jersey under protection.
Chill hours
Ellington Curse has no winter-chill requirement — its listed minimum is 0 hours (Growable Ground Plant Database). New Jersey typically banks ~2500 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so chill is not a constraint on this plant here — and not evidence in its favour either. Winter survival and season length are what decide it.
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
Ellington Curse tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.3-8) — 3.7 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 6.5 and 7 — 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), excessive (dry/moderately dry). If your New Jersey site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
Your land, not the state average
SSURGO maps about 14.3% of New Jersey as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Ellington Curse tolerates drought well, so wet feet — not dry spells — is its real risk here — your soil map unit, not the state average, is the real answer.
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. New Jersey soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Ellington Curse 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
Growing ellington curse here specifically
Ellington Curse roots run deep and prefer pH 4.3–8.0, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 14.3% of New Jersey as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its crown before pH ever matters.
Plant ellington curse on a raised, gravel-amended berm so water drains fast and the crown stays dry. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every New Jersey grower, not just ellington curse — is covered on the New Jersey growing guide.
Timing shifts within New Jersey
New Jersey isn't one climate. In Morris County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 11 — roughly 11 days later than the recorded state median — so plant ellington curse 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 New Jersey Ellington Curse Is Zone-Hardy
Ellington Curse is rated for USDA zones 9–11. No New Jersey county reaches it. Even Salem County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 7b, sits below the plant’s zone 9 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.
Across those 21 counties New Jersey’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6b in Morris County to zone 7b in Salem 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 ellington curse needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Ellington Curse’s zone 9–11 band: Rated hardy to zone 9 by Cal Poly SelecTree, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: Cal Poly SelecTree (read 2026-10-06).. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Ellington Curse draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, ellington curse 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. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Good to Know Before You Plant Ellington Curse
Ellington Curse is listed as toxic to dogs, cats (seeds, pods) at a mild level. (Source: Cornell Poisonous Plants Database.) Most listed plants only cause brief upset — a raised bed or a fenced corner usually keeps curious pets clear.
New Jersey Cooperative Extension
For New Jersey-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for ellington curse, the canonical source is Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Ellington Curse in New Jersey
When can I plant Ellington Curse 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 Ellington Curse, 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 Ellington Curse grown in across New Jersey?
New Jersey spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-8a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Ellington Curse is listed for zones 9-11, which do not overlap them, so there is no zone in New Jersey where this page can call outdoor growing reliable. A parcel report resolves your own address's zone.
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). Ellington Curse needs 60+ 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 Morris, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
How should I amend the soil for Ellington Curse in New Jersey?
Ellington Curse tolerates pH 4.3-8 and well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.7-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 Ellington Curse actually grow on my specific land in New Jersey?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores ellington curse 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 New Jersey
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores ellington curse against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that New Jersey ellington curse 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 ellington curse average
Explore More
Growing guides for ellington curse
Explore New Jersey county by county
New Jersey carries 21 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for ellington curse there:
Where else ellington curse grows
Ellington Curse'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 1,011 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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