Generally — Most Areas
ice plant (zones 6-10) suits most of Illinois (5a-7b) — zones 6-7 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Illinois spans zones 5a-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 ice plant against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
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Zone Comparison
Ice Plant Needs
- USDA Zones: 6-10
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 6 in tall
- Picking window: ~60 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: High
Illinois Has
- USDA Zones: 5a-7b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 29 - Apr 8
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 28 - Nov 5
- Annual Rainfall: 34-48 inches
- Common Soils: Prairie loam, Silt loam, Clay loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 6-10)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: USDA PLANTS Database / Growable Ground plant catalog. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Ice Plant in Illinois
The frost window
Across Illinois, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 29 and Apr 8, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 28 and Nov 5 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 203-day window you can count on — up to 221 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
Illinois runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for ice plant, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether ice plant is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Illinois; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: USDA PLANTS Database. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Ice Plant likes near-neutral soil (pH 5.5-7). That's the common-ground band across Illinois's prairie loam and silt loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Illinois 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.
Plant pH and drainage requirements from USDA PLANTS Database. Illinois soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Ice Plant in Illinois — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Generally — Most Areas
- Plant Zones: 6-10 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 5a-7b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Mar 29 - Apr 8 to Oct 28 - Nov 5 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Ice Plant in Illinois
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Illinois growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils in northern IL drain poorly
Extreme temperature swings between summer and winter
Japanese beetles are a major garden pest
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Illinois grower, not just ice plant — is covered on the Illinois growing guide.
Where in Illinois Ice Plant Is Zone-Hardy
Ice Plant is rated for USDA zones 6–10. 74 of Illinois’s 102 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Adams County at zone 6a. 28 counties sit below the plant’s zone 6 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Illinois decides this one.
Across those 102 counties Illinois’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 5a in Carroll County to zone 7a in Williamson County — 2 USDA zones of spread, which is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Jo Daviess County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 22, while Alexander County is clear by Mar 17 — 36 days apart. Set ice plant out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Ice Plant’s zone 6–10 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Where in Illinois Fits Best
Even within Illinois's zones 5a-7b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for ice plant (USDA PHZM 2023):
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Ice Plant draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, ice plant can only work that bloom inside Illinois's frost window — roughly 212 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 29 - Apr 8) and closing at the first (Oct 28 - Nov 5), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Illinois Cooperative Extension
For Illinois-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for ice plant, the canonical source is University of Illinois Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Ice Plant native to Illinois?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Ice Plant as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Illinois's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Illinois natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Illinois 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 Ice Plant in Illinois
When can I plant Ice Plant in Illinois?
Illinois's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 29 and Apr 8, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 28 and Nov 5 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Ice Plant, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Illinois 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 Ice Plant grown in across Illinois?
Illinois spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-7b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Ice Plant carries a range of zones 6-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Illinois site have?
A typical Illinois site sees ~212 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Ice Plant should be matched against that window, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Ice Plant native to Illinois?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Ice Plant as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Illinois's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Illinois natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Ice Plant in Illinois?
Ice Plant prefers pH 5.5-7 and excessive (dry/moderately dry) drainage (Growable Ground Plant Database). That sits in the common-ground band across Illinois soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Ice Plant actually grow on my specific land in Illinois?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores ice plant 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 Illinois
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores ice plant against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Illinois ice plant averages can't show:
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