Alabama spans USDA hardiness zones 7a-9a, with a growing season of about 220 frost-free days — a season with slack in it: successions, late sowings, and long-maturing crops all fit.
Behind the zone label sits the real climate engine: 50-65 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 5,000 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 600 winter chill hours for tree fruit. The ground itself runs to red clay, sandy loam, and alluvial; drainage character, more than fertility, is usually what sorts the thrivers from the strugglers. Within Alabama's borders sit genuinely different growing regions — Appalachia, Piedmont, and Gulf Coast — separated by zone band and frost timing. Well-matched crops include pecan, muscadine grape, okra, and collard greens, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Alabama spans zones 7a-9a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Alabama — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
7a-9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Feb 28 - Apr 5
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 25 - Nov 20
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
50-65 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Alabama. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Alabama — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Slow. Red clay seals under pounding rain and sheds water across the surface, then holds tight to what soaks in.
What thrives
Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, and muscadines are traditional red-clay performers, and many fruit trees root deep into it once through the first year. Azaleas and blueberries appreciate its typical acidity.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
Drainage
Usually good: rivers sort their loads, and most alluvial soils have enough sand and silt to move water while holding plenty for roots. Low-lying pockets can run wet.
What thrives
Nearly everything — vegetables, orchards, vines, and berries all prosper on alluvium. Its depth lets roots go as far down as they care to.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Alabama's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
The plants Alabama put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Camellia japonica
Designated 1959. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Pinus palustris
Designated 1949. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Designated 2021. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Alabama — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Alabama’s USDA zones 7a-9a but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Heavy clay soils in the Piedmont region
Open clay with compost over time — or start above it in a raised bed and let the ground catch up underneath.
High humidity promotes fungal diseases
Airflow is the free fungicide: space generously, water at the base in the morning, and pick resistant varieties from your extension's list.
Fire ants are a persistent garden pest
Season-long baiting beats mound-by-mound whack-a-mole — your extension office publishes the current program that works.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Alabama, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Alabama — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Alabama — 27,834 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 327 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Alabama 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.
Severity Distribution
across Alabama
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Alabama, two things run higher than the national average — CAFO (1,551 sites) and PFAS (290 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
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.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Alabama spans USDA hardiness zones 7a-9a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
The last spring frost in Alabama is typically around Feb 28 - Apr 5, and the first fall frost around Oct 25 - Nov 20, per NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991–2020). Your specific site may differ — frost dates vary by elevation, proximity to water, and local microclimate.
Alabama's zones 7a-9a support a wide range — strong performers include Pecan, Muscadine Grape, Okra, Collard Greens, and Fig. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Alabama spans USDA zones 7a-9a (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Alabama runs heavier than most — 27,834 documented sites — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. Alabama spans USDA zones 7a-9a, which sets what survives winter; the statewide frost window runs about Feb 28 - Apr 5 to Oct 25 - Nov 20 (NOAA 30-year climate normals); and 27,834 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a Alabama average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Alabama.
Alabama shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
