Swiss Chard is grown for its leaves, ready to start cutting about 55 days after sowing. It's hardy across USDA zones 2 through 11. Once it comes in, a single planting keeps producing for much of the season, so you harvest over time rather than all at once.
Swiss Chard — the short answer
Swiss Chard: grown in zones 2–11, part sun, pH 5.5–7.5, about 55 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 2–11
- 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
- 5.5–7.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 55 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temperature
- 32°F
- 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 Swiss Chard on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether swiss chard actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score swiss chard against your land's real conditions.
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What Swiss Chard is
Swiss Chard reaches around a foot and a half at maturity.
How to grow Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard grows in USDA zones 2 through 11 and is ready to harvest about 55 days after planting. Swiss Chard does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 700 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 160 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
2-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.5 - 7.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
32°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Minimum Growing Temperature
39.2°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
55 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
700+
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
1.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
160+
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 swiss chard in part sun with at least 4 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Swiss Chard prefers pH 5.5 to 7.5 (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. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Swiss Chard is ready about 55 days after sowing. Cut the outer leaves as you need them — frequent harvest keeps new growth coming.
Where Swiss Chard thrives
On hardiness alone, swiss chard grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 2 through 11) 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 2–11 spans average winter lows from -50°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 48 outright and splits 3 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 2–11·Where Swiss Chard growsOpen map →
Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.
Where Swiss Chard stands, state by state
Swiss Chard is rated for zones 2–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 48 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 3 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 2–11
48 states
3 of 48 shown
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 Swiss Chard
Growing guides for swiss chard
In rotation planning, swiss chard counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in vegetable
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — swiss chard isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Swiss Chard isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data — pair it with high-value bloomers nearby to feed bees.
Before you harvest swiss chard, 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 swiss chard 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 Swiss Chard'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 Swiss Chard will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether swiss chard 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 Swiss Chard
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 Swiss Chard in my zone?
Swiss Chard grows in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 11 (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 Swiss Chard take to grow?
Swiss Chard is ready to harvest about 55 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Swiss Chard?
Most growers plant swiss chard after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 160-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 Swiss Chard need?
Swiss Chard does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Swiss Chard need?
Swiss Chard prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Swiss Chard attract pollinators?
Swiss Chard isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data. Pairing it with high-value bloomers nearby keeps bees and butterflies fed.
Is Swiss Chard safe for pets?
Swiss Chard is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)