Conditional — Some Areas
Guinea grass (zones 9-13) reaches only part of Georgia (7a-9b): zone 9 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Guinea Grass in Georgia — the short answer
Guinea Grass in Georgia: hardy in zones 9–13, part sun, against a state median of ~275 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 9-13
- 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
- Georgia zones
- 7a-9b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 17 - Mar 10 – Nov 24 - Dec 4
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 204 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.
Georgia spans zones 7a-9b, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score guinea grass against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
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Georgia is not one climate
A single Georgia answer averages 159 counties whose growing seasons are 101 days apart — from 204 frost-free days in Towns County to 305 in Colquitt County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what guinea grass can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 159 counties runs 259–290 days, with a median of 275 days — a 101-day span end to end.
Measured across 159 Georgia counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. 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 in Georgia Fits Best
Guinea Grass is rated for zones 9–13 — a cold floor USDA puts at 20 to 30°F. Against Georgia’s 159 counties that band holds in 43 of them, and the line runs at Atkinson County (zone 9a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 9–13
43 counties
- Bacon County · zone 9a
- Ben Hill County · zone 9a
- Berrien County · zone 9a
3 of 43 shown
Below the zone 9 floor
116 counties
- Fannin County · zone 7b
- Gilmer County · zone 7b
- Rabun County · zone 7b
3 of 116 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.
Even within Georgia's zones 7a-9b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for guinea grass (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Guinea Grass Needs
- USDA Zones: 9-13
- Frost-Free Days: 70+
- Sun: Part Sun
Georgia Has
- USDA Zones: 7a-9b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 17 - Mar 10
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 24 - Dec 4
- Annual Rainfall: 45-55 inches
- Common Soils: Red clay (Piedmont), Sandy loam (Coastal Plain), Alluvial
Plant Zone Range (zones 9-13)
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 Guinea Grass in Georgia
The frost window
Across Georgia, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 17 and Mar 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 24 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 259-day window you can count on — up to 290 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.
Frost tenderness
Guinea Grass is frost-tender — FAO ECOCROP puts its killing temperature at 32°F — so set plants out two to three weeks PAST your local last hard freeze, not on it and not on the state's earliest date. The 28°F marker above is when killing freezes stop, not when light frost does. That is the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor — an established perennial comes through far colder while dormant, which is what its hardiness zone tells you.
When to start the seed
Guinea Grass is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Georgia's dates above are the whole calendar for it. That makes the last-freeze date the binding constraint, and a warmer pocket of your own yard is worth more to this crop than it is to a transplanted one.
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 guinea grass survives winter in part of Georgia, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Guinea Grass wants 70+ frost-free days; a typical Georgia site sees ~275 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
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
Guinea Grass tolerates a wide pH range (pH 3.5-8.4) — 4.9 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Georgia. 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 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Georgia soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Georgia site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
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. Georgia soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Guinea Grass in Georgia
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Georgia growers also need to think about:
Heavy red Piedmont clay is difficult to work and drains poorly
High humidity drives fungal diseases in summer
Fire ants are a persistent pest in gardens across the state
Summer heat (90-100F) can stress cool-season crops by May
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Georgia grower, not just guinea grass — is covered on the Georgia growing guide.
Timing shifts within Georgia
Guinea Grass needs about 70 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Towns County — Georgia’s shortest season at 204 frost-free days — clears that by 134 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Georgia. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Georgia’s 159 counties the frost-free season runs from 204 days in Towns County to 305 days in Colquitt County — a spread of 101 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Georgia county sees 275 frost-free days, leaving guinea grass about 205 days of slack on a typical parcel — room for a second sowing where the season runs long.
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"). Guinea Grass's 70-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Georgia Cooperative Extension
For Georgia-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for guinea grass, the canonical source is UGA Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Guinea Grass in Georgia
When can I plant Guinea Grass in Georgia?
Georgia's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 17 and Mar 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 24 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Guinea Grass is frost-tender — its killing temperature is 32°F (FAO ECOCROP — the point where cold damages growing tissue, not a winter-survival floor) — so wait two to three weeks past your site's last hard freeze, when light frost has also stopped, before planting out.
What hardiness zone is Guinea Grass grown in across Georgia?
Georgia spans USDA hardiness zones 7a-9b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Guinea Grass carries a range of zones 9-13, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Georgia site have?
A typical Georgia site sees ~275 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Guinea Grass needs 70+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
How should I amend the soil for Guinea Grass in Georgia?
Guinea Grass tolerates pH 3.5-8.4 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4.9-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Georgia site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Guinea Grass actually grow on my specific land in Georgia?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores guinea grass 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 Georgia
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores guinea grass against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Georgia guinea grass averages can't show:
We read public map data around Georgia — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Georgia guinea grass average
Explore More
Growing guides for guinea grass
Explore Georgia county by county
Georgia carries 159 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for guinea grass there:
Where else guinea grass grows
Guinea Grass's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Georgia 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 Georgia
Georgia has a growing page for 1,034 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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