Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
fairy duster (zones 8-11) does not overlap with New York's zone range (4a-7b). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
One zone short — what would close it
Fairy Duster is hardy to zone 8, and the warmest ground in New York is zone 7 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a New York winter. To grow it here, grow fairy duster 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 8-11 (plant) against 3-7 (New York). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Fairy Duster in New York — the short answer
Fairy Duster in New York: hardy in zones 8–11, full sun, against a state median of ~185 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 8-11
- 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 York zones
- 4a-7b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 13 - Apr 29 – Oct 18 - Nov 5
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 136 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 York spans zones 4a-7b, 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 fairy duster 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 full report in seconds
New York is not one climate
New York’s winter-low ladder runs across 62 counties, from zone 4 in Essex County to zone 7.5 in Richmond County. That is 35°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between fairy duster overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 62 counties runs 5.5–6.5 zones, with a median of 6 zones — a 3.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 62 New York 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 Fairy Duster Stands in New York
Fairy Duster is rated for zones 8–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. No New York 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 York winters, not about fairy duster.
Below the zone 8 floor
62 counties
- Essex County · zone 4a
- Franklin County · zone 4a
- Hamilton County · zone 4a
3 of 62 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
Fairy Duster Needs
- USDA Zones: 8-11
- Frost-Free Days: 240+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Drought tolerance: High
New York Has
- USDA Zones: 4a-7b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 13 - Apr 29
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 18 - Nov 5
- Annual Rainfall: 30-50 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Silt loam, Clay loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 8-11)
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 Fairy Duster in New York
The frost window
Across New York, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 13 and Apr 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 18 and Nov 5 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 172-day window you can count on — up to 206 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 York runs as cold as USDA zone 4, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for fairy duster, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether fairy duster is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within New York; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Hamilton 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 fairy duster does not survive a New York 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 York under protection.
Frost-free days
Fairy Duster wants 240+ frost-free days; a typical New York site sees ~185 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020) — 55 days short of what it needs. A typical New York 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.
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
Fairy Duster 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 York. 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 and 6 — worth knowing before you decide whether a New York soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your New York site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
SSURGO maps about 22.3% of New York as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Fairy Duster 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 York soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Fairy Duster in New York
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but New York growers also need to think about:
Short upstate growing season (100-140 frost-free days in Adirondacks)
Heavy clay soils in western NY require drainage improvement
Late spring frosts through May in higher elevations
Deer browse pressure is heavy in suburban and rural areas
Growing fairy duster here specifically
Fairy Duster roots run medium and prefer pH 4.5–7.5, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 22.3% of New York as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its crown before pH ever matters.
Plant fairy duster 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 York grower, not just fairy duster — is covered on the New York growing guide.
Timing shifts within New York
New York isn't one climate. In Hamilton County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 19 — roughly 27 days later than the recorded state median — so plant fairy duster to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Fairy Duster needs about 240 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 6 of New York’s 62 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Nassau County at 244 frost-free days — 4 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.
Across New York’s 62 counties the frost-free season runs from 136 days in Hamilton County to 258 days in New York County — a spread of 122 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median New York county sees 185 frost-free days, which is 55 days short of what fairy duster needs — so on a typical New York parcel this is a transplant-or-protect crop, not a direct-sow one.
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"). Fairy Duster'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
Fairy Duster draws honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, fairy duster can only work that bloom inside New York's frost window — roughly 185 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 13 - Apr 29) and closing at the first (Oct 18 - Nov 5), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
New York Cooperative Extension
For New York-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for fairy duster, the canonical source is Cornell Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Fairy Duster native to New York?
Fairy Duster is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in New York. It can still earn a place in a New York garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The New York growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
Common Questions About Growing Fairy Duster in New York
When can I plant Fairy Duster in New York?
New York's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 13 and Apr 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 18 and Nov 5 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Fairy Duster, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in New York 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 Fairy Duster grown in across New York?
New York spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-7b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Fairy Duster carries a range of zones 8-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical New York site have?
A typical New York site sees ~185 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Fairy Duster needs 240+ 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 Hamilton, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Fairy Duster native to New York?
Fairy Duster is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in New York. It can still earn a place in a New York garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Fairy Duster in New York?
Fairy Duster 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 York site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Fairy Duster actually grow on my specific land in New York?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores fairy duster 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 York
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores fairy duster against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that New York fairy duster averages can't show:
We read public map data around New York — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the New York fairy duster average
Explore More
Growing guides for fairy duster
Explore New York county by county
New York carries 62 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for fairy duster there:
Where else fairy duster grows
Fairy Duster's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to New York 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 York
New York has a growing page for 893 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
Last updated: