Can I Grow Longan in Georgia?

Longan in Georgia — the short answer

Georgia is not one climate

Where Longan Stands in Georgia

Zone Comparison

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 Longan in Georgia

Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Towns 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 longan does not survive a Georgia 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 Georgia under protection.

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

Longan tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Georgia. 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 5.5 and 6 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Georgia soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Georgia site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. Drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

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. Georgia soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

Before you plant longan for food

Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before longan goes in. What follows is Georgia’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.

What Else to Consider for Longan in Georgia

Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Georgia growers also need to think about:

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Georgia grower, not just longan — is covered on the Georgia growing guide.

Timing shifts within Georgia

Georgia isn't one climate. In Towns County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 7 — roughly 39 days later than the recorded state median — so plant longan 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 Georgia Longan Is Zone-Hardy

Longan is rated for USDA zones 10–11. No Georgia county reaches it. Even Worth County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 9a, sits below the plant’s zone 10 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.

Across those 159 counties Georgia’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7b in Fannin County to zone 9a in Worth County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band longan needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Longan’s zone 10–11 band: Rated hardy to zone 10a by Cal Poly SelecTree, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: our plant database.. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.

Pollinator + Wildlife Value

Longan draws honeybees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, longan can only work that bloom inside Georgia's frost window — roughly 275 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 17 - Mar 10) and closing at the first (Nov 24 - Dec 4), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Georgia Cooperative Extension

For Georgia-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for longan, the canonical source is UGA Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Is Longan native to Georgia?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Longan as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Georgia's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Georgia natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

Looking for plants that belong here? The Georgia growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Georgia 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 Longan in Georgia