Wild Quinine is a perennial grown for its blooms, which open in summer and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 4 through 8, shrugs off deer and shrugs off dry spells. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for native bees.
Wild Quinine — the short answer
Wild Quinine: grown in zones 4–8, full sun, pH 5.5–8.5.
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 32°F
- FAO ECOCROP
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.
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Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether wild quinine actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score wild quinine against your land's real conditions.
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What Wild Quinine is
Wild Quinine grows as a perennial and reaches around four feet at maturity. It blooms in summer. It's also deer-resistant.
How to grow Wild Quinine
Wild Quinine grows in USDA zones 4 through 8. Wild Quinine does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 8.5, on well-drained to fast-draining ground.
USDA Zones
4-8
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH
5.5 - 8.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells), excessive (dry/moderately dry)
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.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
46.4°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Mature Height
4 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant wild quinine in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Wild Quinine prefers pH 5.5 to 8.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water while it roots in
Water deeply while wild quinine establishes, letting the soil dry between soakings; once its roots are in, it rides out dry spells on its own.
Harvest at its peak
Cut wild quinine blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Wild Quinine thrives
Wild Quinine is hardy across USDA zones 4 through 8. 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 4–8 spans average winter lows from -30°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 25 outright and splits 26 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 4–8·Where Wild Quinine growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Wild Quinine stands, state by state
Wild Quinine is rated for zones 4–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -30 to -20°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 25 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 26 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 4–8
25 states
3 of 25 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 Wild Quinine
Growing guides for wild quinine
Related plants in perennial flower
Good to know
Wild Quinine offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Your land is one point inside Wild Quinine'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 Wild Quinine will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether wild quinine 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 Wild Quinine
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•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Wild Quinine in my zone?
Wild Quinine grows in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 8 (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Wild Quinine?
Most growers plant wild quinine after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Wild Quinine need?
Wild Quinine needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Wild Quinine need?
Wild Quinine prefers soil pH 5.5 to 8.5, on well-drained to fast-draining ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Wild Quinine attract pollinators?
Yes — wild quinine's flowers are a solid nectar source for native bees. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Keep exploring Wild Quinine
Wild Quinine state by state
Every state wild quinine's zone reaches — 23 link straight to that state's wild quinine growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.