Generally — Most Areas
muscadine grape (zones 7-9) suits most of Tennessee (6a-8a) — zones 7-8 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Muscadine Grape in Tennessee — the short answer
Muscadine Grape in Tennessee: hardy in zones 7–9, full sun, against a state median of ~230 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 7-9
- 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
- Tennessee zones
- 6a-8a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Mar 21 - Mar 29 – Nov 5 - Nov 12
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 193 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.
Tennessee 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 muscadine grape 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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Tennessee is not one climate
Tennessee’s winter-low ladder runs across 95 counties, from zone 7 in Carter County to zone 8 in Tipton County. That is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between muscadine grape overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 95 counties runs 7.5–7.5 zones, with a median of 7.5 zones — a 1-zone span end to end.
Measured across 95 Tennessee 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 Tennessee Fits Best
Even within Tennessee's zones 6a-8a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for muscadine grape (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Muscadine Grape Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-9
- Frost-Free Days: 150+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 30 ft tall
- Picking window: ~28 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Tennessee Has
- USDA Zones: 6a-8a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 21 - Mar 29
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 5 - Nov 12
- Annual Rainfall: 45-55 inches
- Common Soils: Silt loam, Clay loam, Limestone-derived
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-9)
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 Muscadine Grape in Tennessee
The frost window
Across Tennessee, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 21 and Mar 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 221-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
Tennessee runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for muscadine grape, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether muscadine grape is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Tennessee; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Johnson 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 muscadine grape survives winter in part of Tennessee, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Muscadine Grape wants 150+ frost-free days; a typical Tennessee site sees ~230 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Muscadine Grape needs ~3000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~4122 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Tennessee's typical season clears that easily.
Chill hours
Muscadine Grape requires ~400 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). Tennessee typically banks ~2040 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
Muscadine Grape likes near-neutral soil (pH 5.8-8). That's the common-ground band across Tennessee's silt loam and clay 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 Tennessee soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Tennessee site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
Tennessee's soils run mostly silt loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Muscadine Grape 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 muscadine grape 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. Tennessee soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant muscadine grape 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 muscadine grape goes in. What follows is Tennessee’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 Tennessee — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Tennessee — 28,130 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 321 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Tennessee 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.
Severity Distribution
across Tennessee
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Tennessee, two things run higher than the national average across Tennessee — PFAS (262 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (1,955 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Muscadine Grape in Tennessee
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Tennessee growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils in the Nashville Basin
High humidity promotes disease in summer
Variable spring weather with late frost risk
Growing muscadine grape here specifically
Muscadine Grape wants pH 5.8–8.0 and rates to USDA zones 7–9, but Tennessee's soils are dominantly silt loam — the fit is decided by your parcel's own map unit, not the state average.
Match muscadine grape to your parcel's SSURGO map unit — test pH and texture, and amend toward its 5.8–8.0 range. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Tennessee grower, not just muscadine grape — is covered on the Tennessee growing guide.
Timing shifts within Tennessee
Tennessee isn't one climate. In Johnson County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 14 — roughly 21 days later than the recorded state median — so plant muscadine grape to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Muscadine Grape needs about 150 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Johnson County — Tennessee’s shortest season at 193 frost-free days — clears that by 43 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Tennessee. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Tennessee’s 95 counties the frost-free season runs from 193 days in Johnson County to 266 days in Shelby County — a spread of 73 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Tennessee county sees 230 frost-free days, leaving muscadine grape about 80 days of slack on a typical parcel — room for a second sowing where the season runs long.
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"). Muscadine Grape's 150-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Good to Know Before You Plant Muscadine Grape
Muscadine Grape is listed as toxic to dogs (fruit) at a severe level (ASPCA). Most listed plants only cause brief upset — a raised bed or a fenced corner usually keeps curious pets clear.
Tennessee Cooperative Extension
For Tennessee-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for muscadine grape, the canonical source is UT Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Muscadine Grape native to Tennessee?
Yes — the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) documents Muscadine Grape as native to Tennessee. Planting it supports the pollinators and wildlife that evolved alongside it.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
What pests threaten muscadine grape in Tennessee?
Spotted lanternfly and Japanese beetle are documented in Tennessee, and they hit muscadine grape where it counts. Here is what each one actually does — and the move that beats it.
Spotted lanternfly
Act on thisGrapevines are one of only three plants spotted lanternfly is known to kill — Penn State Extension reports that scientists have seen it kill only grapevines, tree-of-heaven and black walnut saplings. On a vine, the sap feeding itself is the damage.
What to do: Scrape or smash every egg mass you can reach between September and June — Penn State found that more effective than the oil ovicides sold for the job. Scout your own vines through the season and treat only where high populations persist, and never spray a vine that is in bloom.
Documented range: states with established spotted lanternfly populations · Penn State Extension
Japanese beetle
Worth watchingThis is on the University of Minnesota's list of Japanese beetle preferred plants — but their read is that fruits, vegetables and herbs tolerate limited leaf feeding, and that in most cases the damage is cosmetic and will not kill the plant.
What to do: Protect it only through the few peak weeks: handpick into soapy water in the cool of morning, harvest regularly through July and August to take the feeding pressure off the edible parts, and keep the plant well watered — a vigorous plant outgrows feeding that looks worse than it is. Do not hang a beetle trap.
Documented range: states listed as Japanese-beetle infested · University of Minnesota Extension, National Plant Board
Only pests whose documented range and host relationship both trace to a primary source appear here — so a quiet section means we have nothing sourced to tell you, not that your garden is pest-free.
Common Questions About Growing Muscadine Grape in Tennessee
When can I plant Muscadine Grape in Tennessee?
Tennessee's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 21 and Mar 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 5 and Nov 12 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Muscadine Grape, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Tennessee 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 Muscadine Grape grown in across Tennessee?
Tennessee spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-8a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Muscadine Grape carries a range of zones 7-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Tennessee site have?
A typical Tennessee site sees ~230 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Muscadine Grape 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 Johnson, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Muscadine Grape native to Tennessee?
Yes — the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) documents Muscadine Grape as native to Tennessee. Planting it supports the pollinators and wildlife that evolved alongside it.
How should I amend the soil for Muscadine Grape in Tennessee?
Muscadine Grape prefers pH 5.8-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Tennessee soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Muscadine Grape actually grow on my specific land in Tennessee?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores muscadine grape 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 Tennessee
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores muscadine grape against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Tennessee muscadine grape averages can't show:
We read public map data around Tennessee — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Tennessee muscadine grape average
Explore More
Growing guides for muscadine grape
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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