yemane (Gmelina arborea), photographi

Can I Grow Yemane in New Mexico?

USDA Zones 5a-9a · Plant zone range 10-12

Unlikely — Zone Mismatch

yemane (zones 10-12) does not overlap with New Mexico's zone range (5a-9a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.

One zone short — what would close it

Yemane is hardy to zone 10, and the warmest ground in New Mexico is zone 9 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a New Mexico winter. To grow it here, grow yemane in a hoop house or unheated greenhouse — its modeled 1.5-zone lift covers this gap.

A hoop house or unheated greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →

Zone math from 10-12 (plant) against 4-9 (New Mexico). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.

Yemane in New Mexico — the short answer

Yemane in New Mexico: hardy in zones 10–12, full sun, against a state median of ~209 frost-free days.

Plant zones
10-12
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
New Mexico zones
5a-9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
Mar 31 - Apr 19 – Oct 22 - Nov 9
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
144 days
NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze

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.

Score your parcel · free

Your yard isn't the whole zone.

New Mexico spans zones 5a-9a, 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 yemane 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 full report in seconds

New Mexico is not one climate

New Mexico’s winter-low ladder runs across 33 counties, from zone 5.5 in Taos County to zone 8.5 in Sierra County. That is 30°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between yemane overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.

5.5 zonesTaos County8.5 zonesSierra County

The middle half of 33 counties runs 6.57.5 zones, with a median of 7 zones — a 3-zone span end to end.

Measured across 33 New Mexico 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 Yemane Stands in New Mexico

Yemane is rated for zones 1012 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. No New Mexico county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about New Mexico winters, not about yemane.

Below the zone 10 floor

33 counties

3 of 33 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.

Zone Comparison

Yemane Needs

  • USDA Zones: 10-12
  • Frost-Free Days: 240+
  • Sun: Full Sun

New Mexico Has

  • USDA Zones: 5a-9a
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Mar 31 - Apr 19
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 22 - Nov 9
  • Annual Rainfall: 8-20 inches
  • Common Soils: Sandy loam, Caliche, Adobe clay

Plant Zone Range (zones 10-12)

10a
12b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 4.07.5

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 Yemane in New Mexico

The frost window

Across New Mexico, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 31 and Apr 19, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 22 and Nov 9 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 186-day window you can count on — up to 223 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

New Mexico runs as cold as USDA zone 5, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for yemane, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether yemane is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within New Mexico; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.

Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Catron 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 yemane does not survive a New Mexico winter in the ground. The season figures below measure a different question — whether it could finish a season here at all — and they only bear on New Mexico under protection.

Frost-free days

Yemane wants 240+ frost-free days; a typical New Mexico site sees ~209 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020) — 31 days short of what it needs. A typical New Mexico 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.

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

Yemane tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4-7.5) — 3.5 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in New Mexico. 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 6 — worth knowing before you decide whether a New Mexico soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your New Mexico site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.

Your land, not the state average

New Mexico's soils run mostly loam, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Yemane 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 yemane 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. New Mexico soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

Before you plant yemane 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 yemane goes in. What follows is New Mexico’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 New Mexico — and how to grow with it.

Federal record: High

We checked the federal record across New Mexico19,441 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.

The most significant on record: 230 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.

New Mexico 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 with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.

Know before you grow — the guide

Sources Checked

across New Mexico

Severity Distribution

across New Mexico

High757Moderate11,154Low7,530

Highest-Severity Sites

PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around New Mexico, two things run higher than the national average across New Mexico — Nitrate (8,470 sites) and Mining (1,718 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.

Sources: EPA, USGS1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.

What Else to Consider for Yemane in New Mexico

Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but New Mexico growers also need to think about:

Very low rainfall requires irrigation for most crops

High altitude UV intensity can burn tender transplants

Alkaline soils limit plant selection without amendment

Growing yemane here specifically

Yemane sends deep roots and rates to zones 10–12, but much of New Mexico sits on slow-draining, restrictive ground (SSURGO hydrologic group D) that forks and stunts them.

Loosen a deep, stone-free bed for yemane and break any compacted or hardpan layer before planting. How to handle it →

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every New Mexico grower, not just yemane — is covered on the New Mexico growing guide.

Timing shifts within New Mexico

New Mexico isn't one climate. In Catron County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 22 — roughly 43 days later than the recorded state median — so plant yemane to your county's window, not the statewide date.

Yemane needs about 240 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 3 of New Mexico’s 33 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Eddy County at 254 frost-free days — 14 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.

Across New Mexico’s 33 counties the frost-free season runs from 144 days in Catron County to 264 days in Doña Ana County — a spread of 120 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median New Mexico county sees 209 frost-free days, which is 31 days short of what yemane needs — so on a typical New Mexico parcel this is a transplant-or-protect crop, not a direct-sow one.

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"). Yemane's 240-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.

Pollinator + Wildlife Value

Yemane draws honeybees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, yemane can only work that bloom inside New Mexico's frost window — roughly 209 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Mar 31 - Apr 19) and closing at the first (Oct 22 - Nov 9), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.

New Mexico Cooperative Extension

For New Mexico-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for yemane, the canonical source is NMSU Cooperative Extension Service. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Is Yemane native to New Mexico?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Yemane as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of New Mexico's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few New Mexico natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

Looking for plants that belong here? The New Mexico growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.

Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.

Common Questions About Growing Yemane in New Mexico

When can I plant Yemane in New Mexico?

New Mexico's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Mar 31 and Apr 19, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 22 and Nov 9 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Yemane, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in New Mexico 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 Yemane grown in across New Mexico?

New Mexico spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-9a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Yemane carries a range of zones 10-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.

How many frost-free days does a typical New Mexico site have?

A typical New Mexico site sees ~209 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Yemane 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 Catron, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.

Is Yemane native to New Mexico?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Yemane as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of New Mexico's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few New Mexico natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

How should I amend the soil for Yemane in New Mexico?

Yemane tolerates pH 4-7.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.5-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a New Mexico site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.

Will Yemane actually grow on my specific land in New Mexico?

State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores yemane against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in New Mexico

State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores yemane against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.

Three things about your lot that New Mexico yemane averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — New Mexico averages 209Your sun & shade

We read public map data around New Mexico — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the New Mexico yemane average

Explore More

Explore New Mexico county by county

New Mexico carries 33 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for yemane there:

Where else yemane grows

Yemane's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to New Mexico 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 New Mexico

New Mexico has a growing page for 1,038 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

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