Generally — Most Areas
yew (zones 4-7) suits most of Arkansas (6b-8b) — zones 6-7 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 yew against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
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Zone Comparison
Yew Needs
- USDA Zones: 4-7
- Mature size: 12 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Medium
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 4-7)
Plant data: USDA PLANTS Database / Growable Ground plant catalog. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Yew 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 yew, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether yew 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.
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 yew survives winter in part of Arkansas, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Chill hours
Yew requires ~400 chill hours (32-45°F dormancy window). Arkansas typically banks ~1780 chill hours per winter (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), which keeps this plant on track.
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.
Yew in Arkansas — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Generally — Most Areas
- Plant Zones: 4-7 (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 Yew 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
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Arkansas grower, not just yew — is covered on the Arkansas growing guide.
Where in Arkansas Yew Is Zone-Hardy
Yew is rated for USDA zones 4–7. 6 of Arkansas’s 75 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Benton County at zone 7a. 69 counties sit above its zone 7 ceiling, where the limit is too little winter chill rather than too much cold. Where you are in Arkansas decides this one.
Across those 75 counties Arkansas’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7a in Benton County to zone 8b in Union County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Carroll County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Mar 26, while Chicot County is clear by Feb 19 — 35 days apart. Set yew out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Yew’s zone 4–7 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
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 yew (USDA PHZM 2023):
Arkansas Cooperative Extension
For Arkansas-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for yew, 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 Yew in Arkansas
When can I plant Yew 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 Yew, 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 Yew grown in across Arkansas?
Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Yew carries a range of zones 4-7, 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). Yew should be matched against that window, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Will Yew actually grow on my specific land in Arkansas?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores yew 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 yew against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Arkansas yew 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 yew average
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