Generally — Most Areas
pecan (zones 5-9) suits most of Maine (3b-7a) — zones 5-7 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Pecan in Maine — the short answer
Pecan in Maine: hardy in zones 5–9, full sun, against a state median of ~182 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 5-9
- 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
- Maine zones
- 3b-7a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 16 - May 3 – Oct 10 - Oct 24
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 143 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 1825 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
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.
Maine spans zones 3b-7a, 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 pecan 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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Maine is not one climate
Maine’s winter-low ladder runs across 16 counties, from zone 4 in Aroostook County to zone 6 in Lincoln County. That is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between pecan overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 16 counties runs 4.5–5.5 zones, with a median of 5.5 zones — a 2-zone span end to end.
Measured across 16 Maine 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 Maine Fits Best
Pecan is rated for zones 5–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Against Maine’s 16 counties that band holds in 12 of them, and the line runs at Oxford County (zone 5a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 5–9
12 counties
- Penobscot County · zone 5a
- Androscoggin County · zone 5b
- Cumberland County · zone 5b
3 of 12 shown
Below the zone 5 floor
4 counties
- Aroostook County · zone 4a
- Franklin County · zone 4b
- Piscataquis County · zone 4b
3 of 4 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.
Even within Maine's zones 3b-7a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for pecan (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Pecan Needs
- USDA Zones: 5-9
- Frost-Free Days: 140+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 120 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Maine Has
- USDA Zones: 3b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 16 - May 3
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 10 - Oct 24
- Annual Rainfall: 36-50 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Sandy loam, Rocky loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 5-9)
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 Pecan in Maine
The frost window
Across Maine, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 16 and May 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 24 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 160-day window you can count on — up to 191 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
Maine runs as cold as USDA zone 3, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for pecan, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether pecan is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Maine; 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.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says pecan survives winter in part of Maine, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Pecan wants 140+ frost-free days; a typical Maine site sees ~182 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves a workable window — start indoors to bank time.
Growing degree days
Pecan needs ~3500 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~1450 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Maine's typical season runs short on heat — pick a south-facing site and consider season extension.
Chill hours
Pecan requires ~400 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). Maine 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
Pecan likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7.5). That's the common-ground band across Maine's glacial till and sandy loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Maine soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Maine site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
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. Maine soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant pecan 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 pecan goes in. What follows is Maine’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 Maine — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Maine — 10,103 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 99 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Maine 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 Maine
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
- •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
- •Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
- •On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Pecan in Maine
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Maine growers also need to think about:
Very short growing season (100-140 frost-free days)
Rocky glacial soils require significant clearing
Harsh winters with heavy snow and ice
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Maine grower, not just pecan — is covered on the Maine growing guide.
Timing shifts within Maine
Pecan needs about 140 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Franklin County — Maine’s shortest season at 143 frost-free days — clears that by 3 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Maine. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Maine’s 16 counties the frost-free season runs from 143 days in Franklin County to 222 days in Knox County — a spread of 79 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Maine county sees 182 frost-free days, leaving pecan about 42 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"). Pecan's 140-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Maine Cooperative Extension
For Maine-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for pecan, the canonical source is UMaine Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Pecan native to Maine?
Pecan is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Maine. It can still earn a place in a Maine garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Maine 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 Pecan in Maine
When can I plant Pecan in Maine?
Maine's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 16 and May 3, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 10 and Oct 24 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Pecan, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Maine 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 Pecan grown in across Maine?
Maine spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Pecan carries a range of zones 5-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Maine site have?
A typical Maine site sees ~182 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Pecan needs 140+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Pecan native to Maine?
Pecan is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Maine. It can still earn a place in a Maine garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Pecan in Maine?
Pecan prefers pH 5-7.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Maine soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Pecan actually grow on my specific land in Maine?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores pecan 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 Maine
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores pecan against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Maine pecan averages can't show:
We read public map data around Maine — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Maine pecan average
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