Nadi blue grass (Dichanthium caricosum), photographi

Can I Grow Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma?

USDA Zones 6b-8b · Plant zone range 10-13

Unlikely — Zone Mismatch

Nadi blue grass (zones 10-13) does not overlap with Oklahoma's zone range (6b-8b). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.

2 zones short — what would close it

Nadi Blue Grass is hardy to zone 10, and the warmest ground in Oklahoma is zone 8 — 2 zones short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Oklahoma winter. To grow it here, grow nadi blue grass 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 10-13 (plant) against 6-8 (Oklahoma). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['earth_sheltered'] (+2.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.

Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma — the short answer

Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma: hardy in zones 10–13, full sun, against a state median of ~237 frost-free days.

Plant zones
10-13
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
Oklahoma zones
6b-8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
Mar 15 - Mar 26 – Nov 9 - Nov 14
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
197 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

Your yard isn't the whole zone.

Oklahoma spans zones 6b-8b, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score nadi blue grass against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Oklahoma is not one climate

A single Oklahoma answer averages 77 counties whose growing seasons are 70 days apart — from 197 frost-free days in Cimarron County to 267 in Choctaw County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what nadi blue grass can finish before the first hard freeze.

197 daysCimarron County267 daysChoctaw County

The middle half of 77 counties runs 229244 days, with a median of 237 days — a 70-day span end to end.

Measured across 77 Oklahoma counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. 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 Nadi Blue Grass Stands in Oklahoma

Nadi Blue Grass is rated for zones 1013 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma winters, not about nadi blue grass.

Below the zone 10 floor

77 counties

3 of 77 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

Nadi Blue Grass Needs

  • USDA Zones: 10-13
  • Frost-Free Days: 180+
  • Sun: Full Sun

Oklahoma Has

  • USDA Zones: 6b-8b
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 15 - Mar 26
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 9 - Nov 14
  • Annual Rainfall: 15-56 inches
  • Common Soils: Red clay, Sandy loam, Prairie loam

Plant Zone Range (zones 10-13)

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

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 5.08.0

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 Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma

The frost window

Across Oklahoma, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 15 and Mar 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 9 and Nov 14 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 228-day window you can count on — up to 244 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.

When to start the seed

Nadi Blue Grass is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Oklahoma's dates above are the whole calendar for it. That makes the last-freeze date the binding constraint, and a warmer pocket of your own yard is worth more to this crop than it is to a transplanted one.

Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Cimarron 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 nadi blue grass does not survive a Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma under protection.

Frost-free days

Nadi Blue Grass wants 180+ frost-free days; a typical Oklahoma site sees ~237 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves a workable window — start indoors to bank time.

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

Nadi Blue Grass tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Oklahoma. 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 Oklahoma soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells). If your Oklahoma site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.

Your land, not the state average

Oklahoma's soils run mostly silt loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Nadi Blue Grass needs about 7 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 nadi blue grass 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. Oklahoma soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

What Else to Consider for Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma

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

Extreme weather variability (tornadoes, ice storms, drought)

Red clay soils drain poorly in central OK

Low western rainfall requires irrigation

Growing nadi blue grass here specifically

Nadi Blue Grass wants pH 5.0–8.0 and rates to USDA zones 10–13, but Oklahoma's soils are dominantly silt loam — the fit is decided by your parcel's own map unit, not the state average.

Match nadi blue grass to your parcel's SSURGO map unit — test pH and texture, and amend toward its 5.0–8.0 range. How to handle it →

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Oklahoma grower, not just nadi blue grass — is covered on the Oklahoma growing guide.

Timing shifts within Oklahoma

Oklahoma isn't one climate. In Cimarron County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 13 — roughly 24 days later than the recorded state median — so plant nadi blue grass to your county's window, not the statewide date.

Nadi Blue Grass needs about 180 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Cimarron County — Oklahoma’s shortest season at 197 frost-free days — clears that by 17 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Oklahoma. What varies is your own parcel.

Across Oklahoma’s 77 counties the frost-free season runs from 197 days in Cimarron County to 267 days in Choctaw County — a spread of 70 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Oklahoma county sees 237 frost-free days, leaving nadi blue grass about 57 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"). Nadi Blue Grass's 180-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension

For Oklahoma-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for nadi blue grass, the canonical source is Oklahoma State University Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Common Questions About Growing Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma

When can I plant Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 15 and Mar 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 9 and Nov 14 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.

What hardiness zone is Nadi Blue Grass grown in across Oklahoma?

Oklahoma spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Nadi Blue Grass carries a range of zones 10-13, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.

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

A typical Oklahoma site sees ~237 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Nadi Blue Grass needs 180+ 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 Cimarron, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.

How should I amend the soil for Nadi Blue Grass in Oklahoma?

Nadi Blue Grass tolerates pH 5-8 and poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Oklahoma site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.

Will Nadi Blue Grass actually grow on my specific land in Oklahoma?

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Oklahoma

State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores nadi blue grass against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.

Three things about your lot that Oklahoma nadi blue grass averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Oklahoma averages 237Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Oklahoma nadi blue grass average

Explore More

Explore Oklahoma county by county

Oklahoma carries 77 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for nadi blue grass there:

Where else nadi blue grass grows

Nadi Blue Grass's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma

Oklahoma 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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