Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
jungle rice (zones 7-13) does not overlap with Nebraska's zone range (4b-6a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
One zone short — what would close it
Jungle Rice is hardy to zone 7, and the warmest ground in Nebraska is zone 6 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Nebraska winter. To grow it here, grow jungle rice 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 7-13 (plant) against 4-6 (Nebraska). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Jungle Rice in Nebraska — the short answer
Jungle Rice in Nebraska: hardy in zones 7–13, full sun, against a state median of ~181 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 7-13
- 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
- Nebraska zones
- 4b-6a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 12 - Apr 26 – Oct 15 - Oct 21
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 134 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.
Nebraska spans zones 4b-6a, 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.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Nebraska is not one climate
A single Nebraska answer averages 93 counties whose growing seasons are 73 days apart — from 134 frost-free days in Sioux County to 207 in Sarpy County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what jungle rice can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 93 counties runs 173–191 days, with a median of 181 days — a 73-day span end to end.
Measured across 93 Nebraska 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 Jungle Rice Stands in Nebraska
Jungle Rice is rated for zones 7–13 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. No Nebraska 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 Nebraska winters, not about jungle rice.
Below the zone 7 floor
93 counties
- Sioux County · zone 4b
- Antelope County · zone 5a
- Arthur County · zone 5a
3 of 93 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
Jungle Rice Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-13
- Frost-Free Days: 45+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 2 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Nebraska Has
- USDA Zones: 4b-6a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 12 - Apr 26
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 15 - Oct 21
- Annual Rainfall: 15-34 inches
- Common Soils: Loess, Sandy loam (Sandhills), Silt loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-13)
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 Jungle Rice in Nebraska
The frost window
Across Nebraska, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (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 192 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.
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 — Nebraska'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 — Sioux 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 jungle rice does not survive a Nebraska 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 Nebraska under protection.
Frost-free days
Jungle Rice wants 45+ frost-free days; a typical Nebraska site sees ~181 (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 Nebraska's loess and sandy loam (sandhills) — 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 8.3% of Nebraska 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 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. Nebraska soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Jungle Rice in Nebraska
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Nebraska growers also need to think about:
Low western rainfall (15 inches) requires irrigation
Extreme wind exposure on open plains
Hail damage during severe storm season
Growing jungle rice here specifically
Jungle Rice has low drought tolerance and roots run shallow, so it can't chase deep water; about 20.7% of Nebraska's soils are excessively drained (SSURGO) and dry out fast between rains.
Mulch jungle rice heavily and set it up with steady drip irrigation on the sandiest ground. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Nebraska grower, not just jungle rice — is covered on the Nebraska growing guide.
Timing shifts within Nebraska
Nebraska isn't one climate. In Sioux County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 14 — roughly 25 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 Sioux County — Nebraska’s shortest season at 134 frost-free days — clears that by 89 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Nebraska. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Nebraska’s 93 counties the frost-free season runs from 134 days in Sioux County to 207 days in Sarpy County — a spread of 73 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Nebraska county sees 181 frost-free days, leaving jungle rice about 136 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.
Nebraska Cooperative Extension
For Nebraska-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for jungle rice, the canonical source is Nebraska Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Jungle Rice native to Nebraska?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Nebraska's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Nebraska natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Nebraska 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 Nebraska
When can I plant Jungle Rice in Nebraska?
Nebraska's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 12 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 15 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.
What hardiness zone is Jungle Rice grown in across Nebraska?
Nebraska spans USDA hardiness zones 4b-6a (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 Nebraska site have?
A typical Nebraska site sees ~181 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 Sioux, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Jungle Rice native to Nebraska?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Nebraska's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Nebraska natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Jungle Rice in Nebraska?
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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska?
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 Nebraska
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 Nebraska jungle rice averages can't show:
We read public map data around Nebraska — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Nebraska jungle rice average
Explore More
Growing guides for jungle rice
Explore Nebraska county by county
Nebraska carries 93 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for jungle rice there:
Where else jungle rice grows
Jungle Rice's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Nebraska 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 Nebraska
Nebraska has a growing page for 806 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
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