Generally — Most Areas
rosemary (zones 8-10) suits most of Texas (6b-10b) — zones 8-10 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Rosemary in Texas — the short answer
Rosemary in Texas: hardy in zones 8–10, full sun, against a state median of ~274 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 8-10
- 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
- Texas zones
- 6b-10b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 10 - Mar 12 – Nov 18 - Dec 4
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 197 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 90 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.
Texas spans zones 6b-10b, 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 rosemary 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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Texas is not one climate
Texas’s winter-low ladder runs across 254 counties, from zone 6.5 in Dallam County to zone 10 in Willacy County. That is 35°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between rosemary overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 254 counties runs 8–9 zones, with a median of 8.5 zones — a 3.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 254 Texas 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 Texas Fits Best
Rosemary is rated for zones 8–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at 10 to 20°F. Against Texas’s 254 counties that band holds in 214 of them, and the line runs at Andrews County (zone 8a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 8–10
214 counties
- Archer County · zone 8a
- Baylor County · zone 8a
- Borden County · zone 8a
3 of 214 shown
Below the zone 8 floor
40 counties
- Dallam County · zone 6b
- Lipscomb County · zone 6b
- Armstrong County · zone 7a
3 of 40 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 Texas's zones 6b-10b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for rosemary (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Rosemary Needs
- USDA Zones: 8-10
- Frost-Free Days: 120+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 4 ft tall
- Picking window: ~120 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: High
Texas Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-10b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 10 - Mar 12
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 18 - Dec 4
- Annual Rainfall: 8-56 inches
- Common Soils: Black clay (Blackland Prairie), Sandy loam, Caliche
Plant Zone Range (zones 8-10)
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 Rosemary in Texas
The frost window
Across Texas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 10 and Mar 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 18 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 251-day window you can count on — up to 297 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
Those dates are when rosemary goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 10 weeks ahead, so counting back from Texas's late-side last freeze of Mar 12 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Winter standing
Rosemary overwinters from USDA zone 8 and warmer (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder), and Texas runs as cold as zone 6, so it does not survive winter in the ground here. It is a woody plant rather than a crop you resow each spring, so neither a fall establishment date nor a harvest countdown describes it in Texas — which is why this page gives neither. What it needs here is a way through winter, not a planting date.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Dallam 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 rosemary survives winter in part of Texas, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Rosemary wants 120+ frost-free days; a typical Texas site sees ~274 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Rosemary needs ~2500 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~5834 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Texas's typical season clears that easily.
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
Rosemary tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.2-8.3) — 4.1 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Texas. 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 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Texas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Texas site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
Texas's soils run mostly fine sandy loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Rosemary 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 rosemary 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. Texas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant rosemary 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 rosemary goes in. What follows is Texas’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 Texas — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Texas — 93,167 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 480 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Texas 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 Texas
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Texas, two things run higher than the national average across Texas — PFAS (1,103 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (61,246 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Rosemary in Texas
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Texas growers also need to think about:
Extreme heat (100F+ days) stresses many crops from June through September
Rainfall varies dramatically — 8 inches in west TX to 56 inches in east TX
Heavy black clay (Blackland Prairie) is difficult to work and drains poorly
Flash drought conditions can develop rapidly even in wet years
Growing rosemary here specifically
Rosemary prefers pH 4.2–8.3 and room to root medium; across much of Texas, restrictive group-D subsoil (SSURGO) blocks that depth.
Build rosemary a deep raised bed of loose soil to bypass the dense subsoil entirely. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Texas grower, not just rosemary — is covered on the Texas growing guide.
Timing shifts within Texas
Texas isn't one climate. In Dallam County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 12 — roughly 46 days later than the recorded state median — so plant rosemary to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Rosemary needs about 120 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Dallam County — Texas’s shortest season at 197 frost-free days — clears that by 77 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Texas. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Texas’s 254 counties the frost-free season runs from 197 days in Dallam County to 343 days in Kenedy County — a spread of 146 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Texas county sees 274 frost-free days, leaving rosemary about 154 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"). Rosemary's 120-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Rosemary draws honeybees and native bees (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, rosemary can only work that bloom inside Texas's frost window — roughly 274 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 10 - Mar 12) and closing at the first (Nov 18 - Dec 4), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Deer pressure is meaningful across much of Texas; rosemary is listed as deer-resistant (USDA PLANTS Database), which makes it a safer pick for unfenced sites. Our deer & wildlife guide carries the full deer-resistant list and how to protect the rest.
Recommended Rosemary Varieties for Texas
Texas publishes no state variety trial for rosemary, so we won't invent a "best for Texas" list. Choose types rated to your USDA hardiness zone (6b-10b), and confirm winter survival and drainage against your own parcel.
Texas Cooperative Extension
For Texas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for rosemary, the canonical source is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Rosemary in Texas
When can I plant Rosemary in Texas?
Texas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 10 and Mar 12, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 18 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Rosemary overwinters only from USDA zone 8 and warmer, and Texas runs as cold as zone 6, so it does not survive winter in the ground here — the question for Texas growers is how to carry it through winter under cover, not which week to plant it.
What hardiness zone is Rosemary grown in across Texas?
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Rosemary carries a range of zones 8-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Texas site have?
A typical Texas site sees ~274 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Rosemary needs 120+ 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 Dallam, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
How should I amend the soil for Rosemary in Texas?
Rosemary tolerates pH 4.2-8.3 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4.1-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Texas site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Rosemary actually grow on my specific land in Texas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores rosemary 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 Texas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores rosemary against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Texas rosemary averages can't show:
We read public map data around Texas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Texas rosemary average
Explore More
Growing guides for rosemary
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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