Conditional — Some Areas
tea (zones 7-9) reaches only part of Ohio (5b-7a): zone 7 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Ohio spans zones 5b-7a, 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.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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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
Ohio Has
- USDA Zones: 5b-7a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 5 - Apr 13
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 31 - Nov 6
- Annual Rainfall: 34-42 inches
- Common Soils: Glacial till, Clay loam, Silt loam
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 Ohio
The frost window
Across Ohio, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 201-day window you can count on — up to 215 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
Ohio runs as cold as USDA zone 5, 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 Ohio; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Geauga 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 Ohio, 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 Ohio site sees ~208 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020) — 32 days short of what it needs. A typical Ohio season does not carry this crop to harvest outdoors, and a gap that size is not one an earlier sowing date or a faster cultivar closes; growing it here means growing it under cover.
Chill hours
Tea has no winter-chill requirement — its listed minimum is 0 hours (USDA PLANTS Database). Ohio 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
Tea likes near-neutral soil (pH 4-6). That's the common-ground band across Ohio's glacial till and clay 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 Ohio soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Ohio 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 28.6% of Ohio 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. Ohio soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Tea in Ohio — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Conditional — Some Areas
- Plant Zones: 7-9 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 5b-7a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: 28°F hard freezes about Apr 5 - Apr 13 to Oct 31 - Nov 6 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Tea in Ohio
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Ohio growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils across much of northern Ohio require amendment for drainage
Variable spring weather with late frost risk through mid-May
Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms are common garden pests
Wet springs can delay planting and promote root rot
Growing tea here specifically
Tea needs sharp drainage and sends deep roots hardy to about 46°F; in Ohio, about 28.6% 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 Ohio grower, not just tea — is covered on the Ohio growing guide.
Timing shifts within Ohio
Ohio isn't one climate. In Geauga County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Apr 22 — roughly 13 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. No Ohio county gives it that outdoors: even Cuyahoga County, the state’s longest season at 239 frost-free days, falls 1 days short — so it needs transplants, a short-season variety, or covered growing.
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 Ohio Fits Best
Even within Ohio's zones 5b-7a, 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 Ohio's frost window — roughly 208 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 5 - Apr 13) and closing at the first (Oct 31 - Nov 6), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Ohio Cooperative Extension
For Ohio-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for tea, the canonical source is Ohio State University Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Tea in Ohio
When can I plant Tea in Ohio?
Ohio's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 5 and Apr 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 31 and Nov 6 (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 Ohio 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 Ohio?
Ohio spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7a (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 Ohio site have?
A typical Ohio site sees ~208 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 Geauga, 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 Ohio?
Tea prefers pH 4-6 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Ohio 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 Ohio?
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 Ohio
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 Ohio tea averages can't show:
We read public map data around Ohio — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Ohio 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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