Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
lychee (zones 10-11) does not overlap with New Jersey's zone range (6a-8a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
2 zones short — what would close it
Lychee is hardy to zone 10, and the warmest ground in New Jersey is zone 8 — 2 zones short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a New Jersey winter. To grow it here, grow lychee in an earth-sheltered greenhouse — its modeled 2.5-zone lift covers this gap.
An earth-sheltered greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →
Zone math from 10-11 (plant) against 6-8 (New Jersey). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['earth_sheltered'] (+2.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Lychee in New Jersey — the short answer
Lychee in New Jersey: hardy in zones 10–11, full sun, against a state median of ~222 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 10-11
- 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
- New Jersey zones
- 6a-8a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 26 - Apr 4 – Nov 5 - Nov 17
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 196 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.
New Jersey spans zones 6a-8a, 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 lychee 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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New Jersey is not one climate
New Jersey’s winter-low ladder runs across 21 counties, from zone 6.5 in Morris County to zone 7.5 in Salem County. That is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between lychee overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 21 counties runs 7–7 zones, with a median of 7 zones — a 1-zone span end to end.
Measured across 21 New Jersey 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 Lychee Stands in New Jersey
Lychee is rated for zones 10–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No New Jersey 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 New Jersey winters, not about lychee.
Below the zone 10 floor
21 counties
- Morris County · zone 6b
- Sussex County · zone 6b
- Warren County · zone 6b
3 of 21 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
Lychee Needs
- USDA Zones: 10-11
- Frost-Free Days: 100+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 30 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
New Jersey Has
- USDA Zones: 6a-8a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 26 - Apr 4
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 5 - Nov 17
- Annual Rainfall: 40-50 inches
- Common Soils: Sandy loam (Pine Barrens), Silt loam, Clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 10-11)
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 Lychee in New Jersey
The frost window
Across New Jersey, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 26 and Apr 4, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 215-day window you can count on — up to 236 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
New Jersey runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for lychee, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether lychee is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within New Jersey; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Morris 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 lychee does not survive a New Jersey 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 New Jersey under protection.
Frost-free days
Lychee wants 100+ frost-free days; a typical New Jersey site sees ~222 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Lychee needs ~4500 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~3340 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so New Jersey's typical season runs short on heat — pick a south-facing site and consider season extension.
Chill hours
Lychee requires ~100 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). New Jersey typically banks ~2500 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
Lychee tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8.5) — 3.5 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in New Jersey. 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 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a New Jersey soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your New Jersey 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 14.3% of New Jersey as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Lychee 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. New Jersey soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant lychee 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 lychee goes in. What follows is New Jersey’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across New Jersey — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across New Jersey — 41,663 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 877 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
New Jersey carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across New Jersey
Severity Distribution
across New Jersey
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around New Jersey, Superfund runs higher than the national average — 877 sites across New Jersey. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Lychee in New Jersey
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but New Jersey growers also need to think about:
Sandy Pine Barrens soils are nutrient-poor
Urban heat island effects in northern NJ
Deer browse is extreme in suburban areas
Growing lychee here specifically
Lychee roots run deep and prefer pH 5.0–8.5, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 14.3% of New Jersey as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its crown before pH ever matters.
Plant lychee on a raised, gravel-amended berm so water drains fast and the crown stays dry. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every New Jersey grower, not just lychee — is covered on the New Jersey growing guide.
Timing shifts within New Jersey
New Jersey isn't one climate. In Morris County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 11 — roughly 11 days later than the recorded state median — so plant lychee to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Lychee needs about 100 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Sussex County — New Jersey’s shortest season at 196 frost-free days — clears that by 96 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in New Jersey. 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"). Lychee's 100-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Lychee draws honeybees (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, lychee can only work that bloom inside New Jersey's frost window — roughly 222 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 26 - Apr 4) and closing at the first (Nov 5 - Nov 17), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
New Jersey Cooperative Extension
For New Jersey-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for lychee, the canonical source is Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Lychee native to New Jersey?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Lychee as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of New Jersey's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few New Jersey natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The New Jersey 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 Lychee in New Jersey
When can I plant Lychee in New Jersey?
New Jersey's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 26 and Apr 4, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Lychee, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in New Jersey 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 Lychee grown in across New Jersey?
New Jersey spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-8a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Lychee carries a range of zones 10-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical New Jersey site have?
A typical New Jersey site sees ~222 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Lychee needs 100+ 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 Morris, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Lychee native to New Jersey?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Lychee as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of New Jersey's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few New Jersey natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Lychee in New Jersey?
Lychee tolerates pH 5-8.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.5-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a New Jersey site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Lychee actually grow on my specific land in New Jersey?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores lychee 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 New Jersey
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores lychee against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that New Jersey lychee averages can't show:
We read public map data around New Jersey — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the New Jersey lychee average
Explore More
Growing guides for lychee
Explore New Jersey county by county
New Jersey carries 21 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for lychee there:
Where else lychee grows
Lychee's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to New Jersey 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 New Jersey
New Jersey has a growing page for 1,020 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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