Generally — Most Areas
nagoonberry (zones 1-5) suits most of Vermont (4a-6a) — zones 4-5 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Nagoonberry in Vermont — the short answer
Nagoonberry in Vermont: hardy in zones 1–5, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 1-5
- Hardy to zone 1a: USDA PLANTS Database lists -62 °F, converted to zone 1a, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: not verified.
- Vermont zones
- 4a-6a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 27 - May 5 – Oct 10 - Oct 17
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 146 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.
Vermont spans zones 4a-6a, 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 nagoonberry 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
Vermont is not one climate
Vermont’s winter-low ladder runs across 14 counties, from zone 4.5 in Caledonia County to zone 5.5 in Windsor County. That is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between nagoonberry overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 14 counties runs 4.5–5 zones, with a median of 5 zones — a 1-zone span end to end.
Measured across 14 Vermont 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 Vermont Fits Best
Nagoonberry is rated for zones 1–5 — a cold floor USDA puts at -60 to -50°F. Against Vermont’s 14 counties that band holds in 12 of them, and the line runs at Caledonia County (zone 4b), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 1–5
12 counties
- Essex County · zone 4b
- Franklin County · zone 4b
- Lamoille County · zone 4b
3 of 12 shown
Above the zone 5 ceiling
2 counties
- Windham County · zone 5b
- Windsor County · zone 5b
Warmer than the zone 5 end of its range.
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.
Even within Vermont's zones 4a-6a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for nagoonberry (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Nagoonberry Needs
- USDA Zones: 1-5
- Sun: Full SunWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Mature size: 6 in tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Picking window: ~28 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: Low
Vermont Has
- USDA Zones: 4a-6a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 27 - May 5
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 17
- Annual Rainfall: 34-44 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Clay, Silt loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 1-5)
Preferred Soil pH
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
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 Nagoonberry in Vermont
The frost window
Across Vermont, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 27 and May 5, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 158-day window you can count on — up to 173 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
Vermont runs as cold as USDA zone 4, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for nagoonberry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether nagoonberry is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Vermont; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
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
Nagoonberry tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-7.8) — 3.3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Vermont. 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 Vermont soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Vermont site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. pH range, preferred pH and 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. Vermont soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant nagoonberry 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 nagoonberry goes in. What follows is Vermont’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 Vermont — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Vermont — 4,466 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 41 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Vermont 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.
Sources Checked
across Vermont
Severity Distribution
across Vermont
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Vermont, Brownfields runs higher than the national average — 597 sites across Vermont. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties that EPA’s Brownfields program (ACRES) has assessed or funded cleanup on.
Contact the EPA Brownfields program or the state cleanup agency for this site’s actual assessment/remediation status — ACRES itself does not publish one we can read per site.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Nagoonberry in Vermont
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Vermont growers also need to think about:
Short growing season (100-130 frost-free days)
Rocky soils throughout the Green Mountains
Heavy clay in the Champlain Valley
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Vermont grower, not just nagoonberry — is covered on the Vermont growing guide.
Where in Vermont Nagoonberry Is Zone-Hardy
Nagoonberry is rated for USDA zones 1–5. 12 of Vermont’s 14 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Caledonia County at zone 4b. 2 counties sit above its zone 5 ceiling, where the limit is too little winter chill rather than too much cold. Where you are in Vermont decides this one.
Across those 14 counties Vermont’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4b in Caledonia County to zone 5b in Windsor County — 1 USDA zone of spread, which is 10°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Essex County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about May 13, while Grand Isle County is clear by Apr 20 — 23 days apart. Set nagoonberry out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Nagoonberry’s zone 1–5 band: Hardy to zone 1a: USDA PLANTS Database lists -62 °F, converted to zone 1a, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: not verified.. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Nagoonberry draws native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, nagoonberry can only work that bloom inside Vermont's frost window — roughly 163 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 27 - May 5) and closing at the first (Oct 10 - Oct 17), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Vermont Cooperative Extension
For Vermont-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for nagoonberry, the canonical source is UVM Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Nagoonberry native to Vermont?
Nagoonberry is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Vermont. It can still earn a place in a Vermont garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Vermont growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Vermont 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 Nagoonberry in Vermont
When can I plant Nagoonberry in Vermont?
Vermont's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 27 and May 5, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 17 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Nagoonberry, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Vermont 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 Nagoonberry grown in across Vermont?
Vermont spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Nagoonberry carries a range of zones 1-5, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Vermont site have?
A typical Vermont site sees ~163 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Nagoonberry needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Nagoonberry native to Vermont?
Nagoonberry is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-10-19) does not record it growing in Vermont. It can still earn a place in a Vermont garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Nagoonberry in Vermont?
Nagoonberry tolerates pH 4.5-7.8 and well (dry spells) drainage. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. That is a 3.3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Vermont site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Nagoonberry actually grow on my specific land in Vermont?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores nagoonberry against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Vermont
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores nagoonberry against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Vermont nagoonberry averages can't show:
We read public map data around Vermont — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Vermont nagoonberry average
Explore More
Growing guides for nagoonberry
Explore Vermont county by county
Vermont carries 14 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for nagoonberry there:
Where else nagoonberry grows
Nagoonberry's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Vermont 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 Vermont
Vermont has a growing page for 752 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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