Conditional — Some Areas
sugar cane (zones 9-12) reaches only part of Texas (6b-10b): zones 9-10 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Sugar Cane in Texas — the short answer
Sugar Cane in Texas: hardy in zones 9–12, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 9-12
- Not verified
- 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
- To first harvest
- ~1 year
- 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 sugar cane 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
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 sugar cane 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
Sugar Cane is rated for zones 9–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at 20 to 30°F. Against Texas’s 254 counties that band holds in 78 of them, and the line runs at Angelina County (zone 9a), the coldest county still inside it.
Inside zones 9–12
78 counties
- Atascosa County · zone 9a
- Austin County · zone 9a
- Bastrop County · zone 9a
3 of 78 shown
Below the zone 9 floor
176 counties
- Dallam County · zone 6b
- Lipscomb County · zone 6b
- Armstrong County · zone 7a
3 of 176 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 sugar cane (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Sugar Cane Needs
- USDA Zones: 9-12
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 12 ft tall
- Picking window: ~30 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- 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 9-12)
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 Sugar Cane 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.
Winter standing
Texas runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for sugar cane, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether sugar cane is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Texas; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
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 sugar cane survives winter in part of Texas, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Growing degree days
Sugar Cane needs ~5000 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~5834 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Texas sits right at the threshold — pay attention to siting and microclimate.
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
Sugar Cane tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-9) — 4.5 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 8 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Texas soil test result is a problem or just a number.
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. Sugar Cane 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 sugar cane 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 sugar cane 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 sugar cane 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 — 70,645 documented sites across 7 of the 8 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 of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Texas
Severity Distribution
across Texas
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Texas, PFAS runs higher than the national average — 1,103 sites across Texas. 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.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Sugar Cane 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 sugar cane here specifically
At ~365 days to harvest, sugar cane barely fits Texas's ~274 frost-free days — there's little slack if spring runs cold.
Give sugar cane an indoor head start and a row cover in fall to beat the first freeze. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Texas grower, not just sugar cane — 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 sugar cane to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Texas Sugar Cane Is Zone-Hardy
Sugar Cane is rated for USDA zones 9–12. 78 of Texas’s 254 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Angelina County at zone 9a. 176 counties sit below the plant’s zone 9 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in Texas decides this one.
Across those 254 counties Texas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 6b in Dallam County to zone 10a in Willacy County — 3.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 35°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. Dallam County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 12, while Kenedy County is clear by Jan 14 — 88 days apart. Set sugar cane 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". Sugar Cane’s zone 9–12 band: Not verified. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Texas Cooperative Extension
For Texas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for sugar cane, 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.
Is Sugar Cane native to Texas?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Sugar Cane as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Texas's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Texas natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Texas growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Texas 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 Sugar Cane in Texas
When can I plant Sugar Cane 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). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Sugar Cane, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Texas 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 Sugar Cane grown in across Texas?
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Sugar Cane carries a range of zones 9-12, 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). Sugar Cane needs 210+ 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.
Is Sugar Cane native to Texas?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Sugar Cane as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Texas's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Texas natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Sugar Cane in Texas?
Sugar Cane tolerates pH 4.5-9 (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4.5-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 Sugar Cane actually grow on my specific land in Texas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores sugar cane 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 Texas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores sugar cane against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Texas sugar cane 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 sugar cane average
Explore More
Growing guides for sugar cane
Explore Texas county by county
Texas carries 254 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for sugar cane there:
Where else sugar cane grows
Sugar Cane's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Texas 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 Texas
Texas has a growing page for 1,036 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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
Last updated: