soursop (Annona muricata), photographi

Can I Grow Soursop in Oregon?

USDA Zones 5a-10a · Plant zone range 10-12

Conditional — Some Areas

soursop (zones 10-12) reaches only part of Oregon (5a-10a): zone 10 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.

One zone short — what would close it

Soursop is hardy to zone 10, and the warmest ground in Oregon is zone 9 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Oregon winter. To grow it here, grow soursop in a hoop house or unheated greenhouse — its modeled 1.5-zone lift covers this gap.

A hoop house or unheated greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →

Zone math from 10-12 (plant) against 5-9 (Oregon). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.

Soursop in Oregon — the short answer

Soursop in Oregon: hardy in zones 10–12, full sun, against a state median of ~213 frost-free days.

Plant zones
10-12
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
Oregon zones
5a-10a
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
Feb 25 - Apr 26 – Oct 19 - Nov 26
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
86 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.

Oregon spans zones 5a-10a, 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 soursop 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 full report in seconds

Oregon is not one climate

Oregon’s winter-low ladder runs across 36 counties, from zone 6 in Klamath County to zone 9.5 in Curry County. That is 35°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between soursop overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.

6 zonesKlamath County9.5 zonesCurry County

The middle half of 36 counties runs 6.58.5 zones, with a median of 7.5 zones — a 3.5-zone span end to end.

Measured across 36 Oregon 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 Soursop Stands in Oregon

Soursop is rated for zones 1012 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No Oregon 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 Oregon winters, not about soursop.

Below the zone 10 floor

36 counties

3 of 36 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

Soursop Needs

  • USDA Zones: 10-12
  • Frost-Free Days: 180+
  • Sun: Full Sun
  • Mature size: 20 ft tall
  • Drought tolerance: Medium

Oregon Has

  • USDA Zones: 5a-10a
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 25 - Apr 26
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 19 - Nov 26
  • Annual Rainfall: 8-90 inches
  • Common Soils: Volcanic, Silt loam (Willamette), Sandy loam

Plant Zone Range (zones 10-12)

10a
12b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 4.58.0

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 Soursop in Oregon

The frost window

Across Oregon, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 25 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 19 and Nov 26 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 176-day window you can count on — up to 274 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

Oregon runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for soursop, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether soursop is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Oregon; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.

Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Klamath 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 soursop survives winter in part of Oregon, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.

Frost-free days

Soursop wants 180+ frost-free days; a typical Oregon site sees ~213 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves a workable window — start indoors to bank time.

Growing degree days

Soursop needs ~5000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~1666 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Oregon's typical season runs short on heat — pick a south-facing site and consider season extension.

Chill hours

Soursop has no winter-chill requirement — its listed minimum is 0 hours (Growable Ground Plant Database). Oregon typically banks ~2500 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so chill is not a constraint on this plant here — and not evidence in its favour either. Winter survival and season length are what decide it.

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

Soursop tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8) — 3.5 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Oregon. 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 Oregon soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Oregon site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.

Your land, not the state average

Oregon's soils run mostly silt loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Soursop needs about 59 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 soursop 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. Oregon soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

Before you plant soursop 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 soursop goes in. What follows is Oregon’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 Oregon — and how to grow with it.

Federal record: High

We checked the federal record across Oregon21,752 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.

The most significant on record: 260 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.

Oregon 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.

Know before you grow — the guide

Sources Checked

across Oregon

Severity Distribution

across Oregon

High556Moderate7,445Low13,751

Highest-Severity Sites

Mining Sites · Past Producer
Mining Sites · Producer
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Mining Sites · Unknown
Mining Sites · Unknown

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Oregon, Mining runs higher than the national average — 3,562 sites across Oregon. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.

Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.

Sources: EPA, USGS1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.

What Else to Consider for Soursop in Oregon

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

West side: excessive rain and overcast skies reduce sun for warm-season crops

East side: arid conditions (8-15 inches rainfall) require irrigation

Slug pressure is extreme in western Oregon

Mountain areas have very short seasons (60-90 frost-free days)

Growing soursop here specifically

Soursop wants pH 4.5–8.0 and rates to USDA zones 10–12, but Oregon's soils are dominantly silt loam — the fit is decided by your parcel's own map unit, not the state average.

Match soursop to your parcel's SSURGO map unit — test pH and texture, and amend toward its 4.5–8.0 range. How to handle it →

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Oregon grower, not just soursop — is covered on the Oregon growing guide.

Timing shifts within Oregon

Oregon isn't one climate. In Klamath County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Jun 9 — roughly 67 days later than the recorded state median — so plant soursop to your county's window, not the statewide date.

Soursop needs about 180 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 26 of Oregon’s 36 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Malheur County at 182 frost-free days — 2 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.

Across Oregon’s 36 counties the frost-free season runs from 86 days in Klamath County to 308 days in Lincoln County — a spread of 222 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Oregon county sees 213 frost-free days, leaving soursop about 33 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"). Soursop's 180-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

Soursop draws native bees (low value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, soursop can only work that bloom inside Oregon's frost window — roughly 213 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 25 - Apr 26) and closing at the first (Oct 19 - Nov 26), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.

Good to Know Before You Plant Soursop

Soursop is listed as toxic to dogs, cats (seeds) at a mild level (Cornell). Most listed plants only cause brief upset — a raised bed or a fenced corner usually keeps curious pets clear.

Oregon Cooperative Extension

For Oregon-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for soursop, the canonical source is OSU Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Is Soursop native to Oregon?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Soursop as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Oregon's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Oregon natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

Looking for plants that belong here? The Oregon 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 Soursop in Oregon

When can I plant Soursop in Oregon?

Oregon's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 25 and Apr 26, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 19 and Nov 26 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Soursop, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Oregon 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 Soursop grown in across Oregon?

Oregon spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-10a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Soursop carries a range of zones 10-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.

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

A typical Oregon site sees ~213 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Soursop 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 Klamath, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.

Is Soursop native to Oregon?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Soursop as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Oregon's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Oregon natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

How should I amend the soil for Soursop in Oregon?

Soursop tolerates pH 4.5-8 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.5-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Oregon site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.

Will Soursop actually grow on my specific land in Oregon?

State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores soursop 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 Oregon

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

Three things about your lot that Oregon soursop averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Oregon averages 213Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Oregon soursop average

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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