Generally — Most Areas
lablab (zones 7-13) suits most of Rhode Island (6b-7b) — zone 7 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Lablab in Rhode Island — the short answer
Lablab in Rhode Island: hardy in zones 7–13, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 7-13
- Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 10a–11b
- Rhode Island zones
- 6b-7b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 27 - Apr 3 – Nov 7 - Nov 21
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 210 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 90 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
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.
Rhode Island spans zones 6b-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 lablab against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
Where in Rhode Island Fits Best
Lablab is rated for zones 7–13 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. Against Rhode Island’s 5 counties that band holds in 3 of them, and the line runs at Bristol County (zone 7a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 7–13
3 counties
0 of 3 shown
Below the zone 7 floor
2 counties
- Kent County · zone 6b
- Providence County · zone 6b
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 Rhode Island's zones 6b-7b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for lablab (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Lablab Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-13
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 4 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: High
Rhode Island Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-7b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 27 - Apr 3
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 7 - Nov 21
- Annual Rainfall: 44-52 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Sandy loam, Coastal sand
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 Lablab in Rhode Island
The frost window
Across Rhode Island, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 27 and Apr 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 7 and Nov 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 218-day window you can count on — up to 239 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
Lablab is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Rhode Island'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.
Winter standing
Rhode Island runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for lablab, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether lablab is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Rhode Island; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
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 lablab survives winter in part of Rhode Island, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Growing degree days
Lablab needs ~2500 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~2635 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Rhode Island sits right at the threshold — pay attention to siting and microclimate.
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
Lablab tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8) — 3.5 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Rhode Island. 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 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Rhode Island soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Rhode Island site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
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. Rhode Island soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Lablab in Rhode Island
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Rhode Island growers also need to think about:
Small lot sizes limit garden space in much of the state
Salt spray affects coastal plantings
Rocky glacial soils need clearing
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Rhode Island grower, not just lablab — is covered on the Rhode Island growing guide.
Where in Rhode Island Lablab Is Zone-Hardy
Lablab is rated for USDA zones 7–13. 3 of Rhode Island’s 5 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Bristol County at zone 7a. 2 counties sit below the plant’s zone 7 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Rhode Island decides this one.
The planting window moves with it. Providence County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 6, while Newport County is clear by Mar 26 — 11 days apart. Set lablab 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". Lablab’s zone 7–13 band: Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 10a–11b. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Lablab draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, lablab can only work that bloom inside Rhode Island's frost window — roughly 225 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 27 - Apr 3) and closing at the first (Nov 7 - Nov 21), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Rhode Island Cooperative Extension
For Rhode Island-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for lablab, the canonical source is URI Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Lablab native to Rhode Island?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Lablab as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Rhode Island's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Rhode Island natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Rhode Island growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Rhode Island and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Lablab in Rhode Island
When can I plant Lablab in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 27 and Apr 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 7 and Nov 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Lablab, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Rhode Island 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 Lablab grown in across Rhode Island?
Rhode Island spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-7b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Lablab 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 Rhode Island site have?
A typical Rhode Island site sees ~225 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Lablab needs 70+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Lablab native to Rhode Island?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Lablab as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Rhode Island's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Rhode Island natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Lablab in Rhode Island?
Lablab tolerates pH 4.5-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database; FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.5-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Rhode Island site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Lablab actually grow on my specific land in Rhode Island?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores lablab against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Rhode Island
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores lablab against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Rhode Island lablab averages can't show:
We read public map data around Rhode Island — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Rhode Island lablab average
Explore More
Growing guides for lablab
Explore Rhode Island county by county
Rhode Island carries 5 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for lablab there:
Where else lablab grows
Lablab's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island
Rhode Island has a growing page for 882 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Last updated: