Rice is an annual grown for its grain, ready to harvest about 120 days after sowing. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 12. As a grass, give it a fresh bed each year — away from where its relatives just grew — so the soil-borne pests and diseases of the family never get a foothold.
Rice — the short answer
Rice: grown in zones 5–12, full sun, pH 4.5–9, about 120 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 5–12
- 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
- Soil pH
- 4.5–9
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 120 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Rice on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether rice actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score rice against your land's real conditions.
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What Rice is
Rice grows as an annual and reaches around 3.5 feet at maturity.
How to grow Rice
Rice grows in USDA zones 5 through 12 and is ready to harvest about 120 days after planting. Rice does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.5 to 9, on consistently moist ground. It needs around 2,500 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 80 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
5-12
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.5 - 9
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
poorly (saturated >50% of year)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
50°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
120 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
2500+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
3.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
80+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant rice in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Rice prefers pH 4.5 to 9 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.
Harvest at maturity
Rice is ready about 120 days after sowing. Harvest once the heads are dry and the grain has gone hard.
Where Rice thrives
On hardiness alone, rice grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 5 through 12) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 5–12 spans average winter lows from -20°F to 60°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 30 outright and splits 20 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 5–12·Where Rice growsOpen map →
Where Rice stands, state by state
Rice is rated for zones 5–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 30 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 20 more, and 1 sits outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 5–12
30 states
3 of 30 shown
The line runs through
20 states
3 of 20 shown
Rice’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 5–12
1 state
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Rice
Growing guides for rice
In rotation planning, rice counts as a Grass — beds recover best when grass crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — rice isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Rice isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data — pair it with high-value bloomers nearby to feed bees.
Before you harvest rice, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant rice for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Rice's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Rice will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether rice actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Rice
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Rice in my zone?
Rice grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 12 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Rice take to grow?
Rice is ready to harvest about 120 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Rice?
Most growers plant rice after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 80-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Rice need?
Rice needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Rice need?
Rice prefers soil pH 4.5 to 9, on consistently moist ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Rice attract pollinators?
Rice isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data. Pairing it with high-value bloomers nearby keeps bees and butterflies fed.
Is Rice safe for pets?
Rice is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)