mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), photographi

Can I Grow Mamoncillo in Arkansas?

USDA Zones 6b-8b · Plant zone range 10-12

Unlikely — Zone Mismatch

mamoncillo (zones 10-12) does not overlap with Arkansas's zone range (6b-8b). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.

2 zones short — what would close it

Mamoncillo is hardy to zone 10, and the warmest ground in Arkansas is zone 8 — 2 zones short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Arkansas winter. To grow it here, grow mamoncillo 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 10-12 (plant) against 6-8 (Arkansas). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['earth_sheltered'] (+2.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.

Mamoncillo in Arkansas — the short answer

Mamoncillo in Arkansas: hardy in zones 10–12, full sun.

Plant zones
10-12
Not verified
Arkansas zones
6b-8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
Mar 2 - Mar 20 – Nov 15 - Nov 23
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
226 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.

Score your parcel · free to start

Your yard isn't the whole zone.

Arkansas spans zones 6b-8b, 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 mamoncillo 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

Arkansas is not one climate

Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs across 75 counties, from zone 7 in Benton County to zone 8.5 in Union County. That is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between mamoncillo overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.

7 zonesBenton County8.5 zonesUnion County

The middle half of 75 counties runs 7.5–8 zones, with a median of 8 zones — a 1.5-zone span end to end.

Measured across 75 Arkansas 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 Mamoncillo Stands in Arkansas

Mamoncillo is rated for zones 10–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No Arkansas 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 Arkansas winters, not about mamoncillo.

Below the zone 10 floor

75 counties

3 of 75 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

Mamoncillo Needs

  • USDA Zones: 10-12
  • Sun: Full Sun
  • Drought tolerance: High

Arkansas Has

  • USDA Zones: 6b-8b
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 2 - Mar 20
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 15 - Nov 23
  • Annual Rainfall: 44-56 inches
  • Common Soils: Silt loam, Sandy loam, Red clay

Plant Zone Range (zones 10-12)

10a
12b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 5.0 – 8.7

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 Mamoncillo in Arkansas

The frost window

Across Arkansas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 240-day window you can count on — up to 266 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

Arkansas runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for mamoncillo, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether mamoncillo is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Arkansas; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.

Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Carroll 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.

Soil + Drainage Fit

Mamoncillo tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8.7) — 3.7 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Arkansas. 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 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Arkansas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Arkansas 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

SSURGO maps about 33.9% of Arkansas as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Mamoncillo tolerates drought well, so wet feet — not dry spells — is its real risk here — 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. Arkansas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

Before you plant mamoncillo 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 mamoncillo goes in. What follows is Arkansas’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 Arkansas — and how to grow with it.

Federal record: High

We checked the federal record across Arkansas — 12,957 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.

The most significant on record: 88 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.

Arkansas 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 of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.

Know before you grow — the guide

Sources Checked

across Arkansas

Severity Distribution

across Arkansas

High264Moderate4,434Low8,259

Highest-Severity Sites

Mining Sites · Past Producer
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Superfund · Superfund NPL
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mining Sites · Past Producer

Know Before You Grow

  • •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • •TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
  • •Mine waste leaches heavy metals. Test for lead, arsenic and cadmium before growing food here.

Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.

What Else to Consider for Mamoncillo in Arkansas

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

Hot, humid summers drive fungal and bacterial diseases

Heavy clay soils in parts of the Ozarks

Severe spring storms and hail risk

Growing mamoncillo here specifically

Mamoncillo rates to USDA zones 10–12 and takes frost damage on growing tissue around 30°F (FAO ECOCROP), but cold isn't the risk in Arkansas — wet is: with roughly 33.9% of its soils poorly-drained (SSURGO), soggy ground rots the crown.

Give mamoncillo a raised bed or mounded row with coarse amendment so its crown never sit wet. How to handle it →

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

Timing shifts within Arkansas

Arkansas isn't one climate. In Carroll County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Mar 26 — roughly 16 days later than the recorded state median — so plant mamoncillo 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 Arkansas Mamoncillo Is Zone-Hardy

Mamoncillo is rated for USDA zones 10–12. No Arkansas county reaches it. Even Union County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 8b, 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 75 counties Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7a in Benton County to zone 8b in Union 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 mamoncillo needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Mamoncillo’s zone 10–12 band: Not verified. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.

Pollinator + Wildlife Value

Mamoncillo draws honeybees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, mamoncillo can only work that bloom inside Arkansas's frost window — roughly 254 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 2 - Mar 20) and closing at the first (Nov 15 - Nov 23), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Arkansas Cooperative Extension

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

Is Mamoncillo native to Arkansas?

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

Looking for plants that belong here? The Arkansas growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Arkansas 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 Mamoncillo in Arkansas

When can I plant Mamoncillo in Arkansas?

Arkansas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Mamoncillo, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Arkansas 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 Mamoncillo grown in across Arkansas?

Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Mamoncillo is listed for zones 10-12, which do not overlap them, so there is no zone in Arkansas where this page can call outdoor growing reliable. A parcel report resolves your own address's zone.

How many frost-free days does a typical Arkansas site have?

A typical Arkansas site sees ~254 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Mamoncillo needs 120+ 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 Carroll, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.

Is Mamoncillo native to Arkansas?

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

How should I amend the soil for Mamoncillo in Arkansas?

Mamoncillo tolerates pH 5-8.7 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.7-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Arkansas site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.

Will Mamoncillo actually grow on my specific land in Arkansas?

State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores mamoncillo against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.

Free to start

Check your specific parcel in Arkansas

State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores mamoncillo against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.

Three things about your lot that Arkansas mamoncillo averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Arkansas averages 254Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Arkansas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Arkansas mamoncillo average

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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