Gotu Kola is a perennial medicinal herb, long valued for its traditional uses. It's hardy across USDA zones 10 through 11 and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a modest draw for honeybees. As a member of the carrot family, 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.
Gotu Kola — the short answer
Gotu Kola: grown in zones 10–11, part sun, pH 5.5–7.5, about 90 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 10–11
- 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
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 90 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temperature
- 10°F
- 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 Gotu Kola on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether gotu kola actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score gotu kola against your land's real conditions.
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What Gotu Kola is
Gotu Kola grows as a perennial and reaches around 8 inches at maturity. It blooms pink in summer. It's also well suited to containers.
How to grow Gotu Kola
Gotu Kola grows in USDA zones 10 through 11 and is ready to harvest about 90 days after planting. Gotu Kola does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7.5, on consistently moist ground. It needs around 3,000 growing degree days to mature, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
10-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.5 - 7.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
poorly (saturated >50% of year)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
10°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
90 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
3000+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
0.7 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
0+
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 gotu kola in part sun with at least 4 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Gotu Kola prefers pH 5.5 to 7.5 (Growable Ground Plant Database). 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. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.
Harvest at its peak
Harvest the part you grow gotu kola for — flower, leaf, or root — at its seasonal peak.
Where Gotu Kola thrives
Gotu Kola is hardy across USDA zones 10 through 11. 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 10–11 spans average winter lows from 30°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers none outright but splits 8 down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 10–11·Where Gotu Kola growsOpen map →
Where Gotu Kola stands, state by state
Gotu Kola is rated for zones 10–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 0 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 8 more, and 43 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
8 states
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
- Arizona · zones 5b-10b
3 of 8 shown
Gotu Kola’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
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 Gotu Kola
Growing guides for gotu kola
In rotation planning, gotu kola counts as a Carrot — beds recover best when carrot crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — gotu kola isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Gotu Kola offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Before you harvest gotu kola, 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 gotu kola for food. Our free screen reads 9 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 Gotu Kola'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 Gotu Kola will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether gotu kola 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.
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How we know this about Gotu Kola
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•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Gotu Kola in my zone?
Gotu Kola grows in USDA hardiness zones 10 through 11 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Gotu Kola take to grow?
Gotu Kola is ready to harvest about 90 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Gotu Kola?
Most growers plant gotu kola after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Gotu Kola need?
Gotu Kola does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Gotu Kola need?
Gotu Kola prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7.5, on consistently moist ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Gotu Kola attract pollinators?
Yes — gotu kola's flowers are a modest nectar source for honeybees.
Is Gotu Kola safe for pets?
Gotu Kola is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)