Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
jungle rice (zones 7-13) does not overlap with Minnesota's zone range (3a-5a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
2 zones short — what would close it
Jungle Rice is hardy to zone 7, and the warmest ground in Minnesota is zone 5 — 2 zones short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Minnesota winter. To grow it here, grow jungle rice under glass — a greenhouse is the only lift this wide the engine models.
A greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →
Zone math from 7-13 (plant) against 3-5 (Minnesota). Lift modeled by crop_engine Sprint 20B effective_zone_modifier (+2 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Minnesota spans zones 3a-5a, 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 jungle rice against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
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Zone Comparison
Jungle Rice Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-13
- Frost-Free Days: 45+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 2 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Minnesota Has
- USDA Zones: 3a-5a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 19 - Apr 30
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 17
- Annual Rainfall: 19-34 inches
- Common Soils: Prairie loam, Clay, Sandy outwash
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-13)
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 Jungle Rice in Minnesota
The frost window
Across Minnesota, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 19 and Apr 30, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 163-day window you can count on — up to 181 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
Jungle Rice is frost-tender — its listed minimum temperature is 42.8°F (USDA PLANTS Database) — 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.
When to start the seed
Jungle Rice is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Minnesota'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.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Lake County, not the statewide average.
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.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says jungle rice does not survive a Minnesota 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 Minnesota under protection.
Frost-free days
Jungle Rice wants 45+ frost-free days; a typical Minnesota site sees ~174 (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
Jungle Rice likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7). That's the common-ground band across Minnesota's prairie loam and clay — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Minnesota soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells). If your Minnesota 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 34.6% of Minnesota as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Jungle Rice has low drought tolerance, so it is the fast-draining end that will cost you — your soil map unit, not the state average, is the real answer.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
Plant pH and drainage requirements from USDA PLANTS Database. Minnesota soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Jungle Rice in Minnesota — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
- Plant Zones: 7-13 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 3a-5a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Apr 19 - Apr 30 to Oct 10 - Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Jungle Rice in Minnesota
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Minnesota growers also need to think about:
Extreme cold (zone 3a: -40F) limits many species
Short growing season (100-140 frost-free days)
Heavy clay soils in the Red River Valley
Growing jungle rice here specifically
Jungle Rice roots run shallow and prefer pH 5.0–7.0, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 34.6% of Minnesota as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its roots before pH ever matters.
Plant jungle rice on a raised, gravel-amended berm so water drains fast and the roots stays dry. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Minnesota grower, not just jungle rice — is covered on the Minnesota growing guide.
Timing shifts within Minnesota
Minnesota isn't one climate. In Lake County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 14 — roughly 23 days later than the recorded state median — so plant jungle rice to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Jungle Rice needs about 45 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Lake County — Minnesota’s shortest season at 137 frost-free days — clears that by 92 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Minnesota. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Minnesota’s 87 counties the frost-free season runs from 137 days in Lake County to 199 days in Ramsey County — a spread of 62 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Minnesota county sees 174 frost-free days, leaving jungle rice about 129 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"). Jungle Rice's 45-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Minnesota Cooperative Extension
For Minnesota-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for jungle rice, the canonical source is University of Minnesota Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Jungle Rice native to Minnesota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Minnesota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Minnesota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Minnesota 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 Jungle Rice in Minnesota
When can I plant Jungle Rice in Minnesota?
Minnesota's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 19 and Apr 30, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Jungle Rice is frost-tender — its listed minimum temperature is 42.8°F (USDA PLANTS Database) — 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 Jungle Rice grown in across Minnesota?
Minnesota spans USDA hardiness zones 3a-5a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Jungle Rice carries a range of zones 7-13, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Minnesota site have?
A typical Minnesota site sees ~174 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Jungle Rice needs 45+ 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 Lake, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Jungle Rice native to Minnesota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Minnesota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Minnesota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Jungle Rice in Minnesota?
Jungle Rice prefers pH 5-7 and poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Minnesota soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Jungle Rice actually grow on my specific land in Minnesota?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores jungle rice 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 Minnesota
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores jungle rice against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Minnesota jungle rice averages can't show:
We read public map data around Minnesota — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Minnesota jungle rice average
Explore More
Growing guides for jungle rice
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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