Generally — Most Areas
tea (zones 7-9) suits most of Arkansas (6b-8b) — zones 7-8 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Arkansas spans zones 6b-8b, 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 tea against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
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Zone Comparison
Tea Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-9
- Frost-Free Days: 240+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 15 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Arkansas Has
- USDA Zones: 6b-8b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 2 - Mar 20
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 15 - Nov 23
- Annual Rainfall: 44-56 inches
- Common Soils: Silt loam, Sandy loam, Red clay
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-9)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: USDA PLANTS Database / Growable Ground plant catalog. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Tea in Arkansas
The frost window
Across Arkansas, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 240-day window you can count on — up to 266 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
Arkansas runs as cold as USDA zone 6, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for tea, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether tea is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Arkansas; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Carroll County, not the statewide average.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: USDA PLANTS Database. 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 tea survives winter in part of Arkansas, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Tea wants 240+ frost-free days; a typical Arkansas site sees ~254 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves a tight window — use transplants and pick early-maturing cultivars.
Chill hours
Tea has no winter-chill requirement — its listed minimum is 0 hours (USDA PLANTS Database). Arkansas typically banks ~1780 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
Tea likes near-neutral soil (pH 4-6). That's the common-ground band across Arkansas's silt loam and sandy loam — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 4.5 and 5.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Arkansas soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Arkansas site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
SSURGO maps about 33.9% of Arkansas as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Tea has low drought tolerance, so it is the fast-draining end that will cost you — your soil map unit, not the state average, is the real answer.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
Plant pH and drainage requirements from USDA PLANTS Database. Arkansas soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Tea in Arkansas — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Generally — Most Areas
- Plant Zones: 7-9 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Mar 2 - Mar 20 to Nov 15 - Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Tea in Arkansas
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Arkansas growers also need to think about:
Hot, humid summers drive fungal and bacterial diseases
Heavy clay soils in parts of the Ozarks
Severe spring storms and hail risk
Growing tea here specifically
Tea needs sharp drainage and sends deep roots hardy to about 46°F; in Arkansas, about 33.9% of soils are poorly-drained (SSURGO), and standing water is what actually kills it.
Build tea up on a coarse, free-draining mound so its crown never sit in saturated soil. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arkansas grower, not just tea — is covered on the Arkansas growing guide.
Timing shifts within Arkansas
Arkansas isn't one climate. In Carroll County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Mar 26 — roughly 16 days later than the recorded state median — so plant tea to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Tea needs about 240 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 58 of Arkansas’s 75 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Howard County at 241 frost-free days — 1 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.
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"). Tea's 240-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Arkansas Fits Best
Even within Arkansas's zones 6b-8b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for tea (USDA PHZM 2023):
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Tea draws honeybees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, tea can only work that bloom inside Arkansas's frost window — roughly 254 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 2 - Mar 20) and closing at the first (Nov 15 - Nov 23), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Arkansas Cooperative Extension
For Arkansas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for tea, the canonical source is University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Tea in Arkansas
When can I plant Tea in Arkansas?
Arkansas's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 2 and Mar 20, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 23 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Tea, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Arkansas 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 Tea grown in across Arkansas?
Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Tea carries a range of zones 7-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Arkansas site have?
A typical Arkansas site sees ~254 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Tea needs 240+ 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 Carroll, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
How should I amend the soil for Tea in Arkansas?
Tea prefers pH 4-6 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Arkansas soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Tea actually grow on my specific land in Arkansas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores tea 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 Arkansas
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores tea against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arkansas tea averages can't show:
We read public map data around Arkansas — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Arkansas tea average
Explore More
Growing guides for tea
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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