Generally — Most Areas
live oak (zones 8-10) suits most of Arizona (5b-10b) — zones 8-10 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Live Oak in Arizona — the short answer
Live Oak in Arizona: hardy in zones 8–10, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 8-10
- Rated hardy to zone 8a by NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (read 2026-10-05).
- Arizona zones
- 5b-10b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 1 - Apr 2 – Nov 13 - Dec 12
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 150 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.
Arizona spans zones 5b-10b, 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 live oak 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.
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Arizona is not one climate
Arizona’s winter-low ladder runs across 15 counties, from zone 6 in Coconino County to zone 9.5 in Yuma County. That is 35°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between live oak overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 15 counties runs 7.5–9.5 zones, with a median of 8.5 zones — a 3.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 15 Arizona counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. 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 in Arizona Fits Best
Live Oak is rated for zones 8–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. Against Arizona’s 15 counties that band holds in 11 of them, and the line runs at Cochise County (zone 8a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 8–10
11 counties
- Greenlee County · zone 8a
- Mohave County · zone 8a
- Graham County · zone 8b
3 of 11 shown
Below the zone 8 floor
4 counties
- Coconino County · zone 6a
- Apache County · zone 6b
- Navajo County · zone 7a
3 of 4 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.
Even within Arizona's zones 5b-10b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for live oak (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Live Oak Needs
- USDA Zones: 8-10
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 50 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Arizona Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-10b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 1 - Apr 2
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 13 - Dec 12
- Annual Rainfall: 3-25 inches
- Common Soils: Caliche, Sandy loam, Desert pavement
Plant Zone Range (zones 8-10)
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 Live Oak in Arizona
The frost window
Across Arizona, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 1 and Apr 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 13 and Dec 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 225-day window you can count on — up to 314 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
Arizona runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for live oak, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether live oak is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Arizona; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Coconino 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 live oak survives winter in part of Arizona, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Chill hours
Live Oak requires ~100 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). Arizona typically banks ~2087 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), which keeps this plant on track.
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
Live Oak likes near-neutral soil (pH 5.5-7.5). That's the common-ground band across Arizona's caliche and sandy loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Arizona soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry). If your Arizona site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
Your land, not the state average
Arizona's soils run mostly sandy loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Live Oak needs about 19 inches of workable depth, so it is that horizon — not the surface — you are testing for. That map unit, not the state average, decides how live oak performs.
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. Arizona soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Live Oak in Arizona
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Arizona growers also need to think about:
Extreme heat exceeding 110F stresses most plants
Minimal rainfall requires drip irrigation
Caliche hardpan prevents root penetration without breaking through
Growing live oak here specifically
Live Oak's medium root system wants open ground, yet a large share of Arizona is SSURGO group-D soil — dense and slow-draining enough to stall it.
Double-dig or broadfork live oak's bed to open the restrictive layer so roots can run. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arizona grower, not just live oak — is covered on the Arizona growing guide.
Timing shifts within Arizona
Arizona isn't one climate. In Coconino County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 15 — roughly 78 days later than the recorded state median — so plant live oak to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Arizona Live Oak Is Zone-Hardy
Live Oak is rated for USDA zones 8–10. 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Cochise County at zone 8a. 4 counties sit below the plant’s zone 8 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Arizona decides this one.
Across those 15 counties Arizona’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6a in Coconino County to zone 9b in Yuma County — 3.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 35°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. Coconino County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about May 15, while Maricopa County is clear by Jan 15 — 120 days apart. Set live oak 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". Live Oak’s zone 8–10 band: Rated hardy to zone 8a by NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (read 2026-10-05).. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
For Arizona-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for live oak, the canonical source is University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Live Oak native to Arizona?
Live Oak is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Arizona. It can still earn a place in a Arizona garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Arizona growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Arizona 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 Live Oak in Arizona
When can I plant Live Oak in Arizona?
Arizona's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 1 and Apr 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 13 and Dec 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Live Oak, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Arizona 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 Live Oak grown in across Arizona?
Arizona spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Live Oak carries a range of zones 8-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Arizona site have?
A typical Arizona site sees ~266 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Live Oak needs 150+ 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 Coconino, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Live Oak native to Arizona?
Live Oak is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Arizona. It can still earn a place in a Arizona garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Live Oak in Arizona?
Live Oak prefers pH 5.5-7.5 and well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Arizona soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Live Oak actually grow on my specific land in Arizona?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores live oak 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 Arizona
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores live oak against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arizona live oak averages can't show:
We read public map data around Arizona — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Arizona live oak average
Explore More
Growing guides for live oak
Explore Arizona county by county
Arizona carries 15 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for live oak there:
Where else live oak grows
Live Oak's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Arizona 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 Arizona
Arizona has a growing page for 1,036 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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