Conditional — Some Areas
jungle rice (zones 7-13) reaches only part of Ohio (5b-7a): zone 7 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Ohio spans zones 5b-7a, 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
Ohio Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 5 - Apr 13
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 31 - Nov 6
- Annual Rainfall: 34-42 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Clay loam, Silt loam
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 Ohio
The frost window
Across Ohio, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 201-day window you can count on — up to 215 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 — Ohio'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 — Geauga 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 survives winter in part of Ohio, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Jungle Rice wants 45+ frost-free days; a typical Ohio site sees ~208 (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 Ohio's glacial till and clay loam — 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 28.6% of Ohio 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. Ohio soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Jungle Rice in Ohio — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Conditional — Some Areas
- Plant Zones: 7-13 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 5b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Apr 5 - Apr 13 to Oct 31 - Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Jungle Rice in Ohio
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Ohio growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils across much of northern Ohio require amendment for drainage
Variable spring weather with late frost risk through mid-May
Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms are common garden pests
Wet springs can delay planting and promote root rot
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 28.6% of Ohio 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 Ohio grower, not just jungle rice — is covered on the Ohio growing guide.
Timing shifts within Ohio
Ohio isn't one climate. In Geauga County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 22 — roughly 13 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 Columbiana County — Ohio’s shortest season at 182 frost-free days — clears that by 137 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Ohio. What varies is your own parcel.
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.
Where in Ohio Fits Best
Even within Ohio's zones 5b-7a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for jungle rice (USDA PHZM 2023):
Ohio Cooperative Extension
For Ohio-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for jungle rice, the canonical source is Ohio State University Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Jungle Rice native to Ohio?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Ohio's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Ohio natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Ohio 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 Ohio
When can I plant Jungle Rice in Ohio?
Ohio's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (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 Ohio?
Ohio spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7a (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 Ohio site have?
A typical Ohio site sees ~208 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 Geauga, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Jungle Rice native to Ohio?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Jungle Rice as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Ohio's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Ohio natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Jungle Rice in Ohio?
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 Ohio 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 Ohio?
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 Ohio
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 Ohio jungle rice averages can't show:
We read public map data around Ohio — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ohio 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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