Alaska spans USDA hardiness zones 1a-9a, with a growing season of about 147 frost-free days — a compact season where quick-maturing crops, hardy perennials, and a well-timed fall planting do the heavy lifting.
Taken together, 10-160 inches of annual rainfall draw the line between what thrives here and what merely survives. The dominant soils run to permafrost, glacial silt, volcanic ash, and peat, and their drainage is one of the strongest predictors of which crops take hold and which falter. Alaska splits into distinct growing country: Southeast Alaska / Inside Passage Panhandle, Interior Alaska / Tanana Valley (Fairbanks), and Kenai Peninsula Coast, each keeping its own frost calendar. A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, potato, rhubarb, and sitka spruce — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Alaska spans zones 1a-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 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data around Alaska — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Alaska — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
Alaska: USDA zones 1a-9a, 85–240 frost-free days depending on the county, 30 counties.
The middle half of this state’s counties. Tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks past the last hard freeze. The shortest-season figure is Alaska's own county record — Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's measured 28°F normal, not a modeled floor.
Zone 1a-9a is Alaska's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Alaska's 147-day season, see what your own ground reads.
One answer for Alaska averages 28 counties whose growing seasons are 155 days apart — from 85 frost-free days in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area to 240 in Sitka City and Borough. That is the same state, measured the same way, in the same years. Which end of it your county sits nearer decides what finishes before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 28 counties runs 118–196 days, with a median of 145 days — a 155-day span end to end.
Measured across 28 counties, each carrying its own 28°F normal. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. A county with no record of its own is absent from the range rather than counted as zero — nothing here is interpolated to the state. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
The middle half of Alaska runs 118–196 frost-free days, and 10 of its 28 counties sit outside that — 4 on the short side, 6 on the long. A statewide planting date describes the middle well and the ends poorly, which is worth knowing before you follow one.
Under 118 frost-free days
4 counties
3 of 4 shown
The end of the state that sets the planting calendar — start seed indoors here and the season stretches to meet the crop.
118–196 frost-free days
18 counties
0 of 18 shown
The middle half of the state, and the part a single statewide date describes well.
Over 196 frost-free days
6 counties
3 of 6 shown
Long enough for a second succession of a quick crop after the first comes out.
Each county is placed by its own 28°F frost-free normal (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze), the same figure its own guide page publishes. Elevation, slope and cold-air drainage move a yard within its county as well — which is the part only your address resolves.
The soil types that dominate Alaska — 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. Each photo is a representative profile of that soil type; the named series is where it was documented, which is often another state.
Drainage
Slow in summer, because meltwater cannot percolate through the frozen floor beneath — the active layer stays cool and often waterlogged.
What thrives
Cold-adapted, fast-maturing crops under the long subarctic daylight: potatoes, cabbage, kale, broccoli, and hardy greens famously reach remarkable size in the land of the midnight sun.
Rock flour — stone ground so fine by the moving ice that it floats in water — settled out in calm meltwater and left behind as smooth, floury soil.
Drainage
Moderate to slow. The fine particles hold water well but can compact and crust, and they erode easily when left bare.
What thrives
Vegetables and small fruits do well on its steady moisture; greens, brassicas, and root crops appreciate the fine, stone-free tilth.
Drainage
Excellent and unusual: ash soils drain freely yet hold remarkable amounts of plant-available water in their porous structure — the best of both habits.
What thrives
Volcanic regions grow celebrated crops the world over: orchards, berries, vegetables, coffee, and wine grapes all prosper on ash-derived soils.
Drainage
Saturated by default — peat forms precisely because water excludes the oxygen decomposition needs. Drained peat holds moisture beautifully but can stay cold late into spring.
What thrives
Acid-lovers are at home: blueberries and cranberries are the classic peatland crops, with rhododendrons, azaleas, and bog natives alongside.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Alaska's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across Alaska, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near May 5, with the middle half of counties between Apr 16 and May 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Sep 24 and Oct 29 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. In a season this compact, fast finishers and cold-hardy greens do the late work, and garlic tucked in before the freeze repays you next summer.
The plants Alaska put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Forget-me-not
Myosotis alpestris
Designated 1917.
Picea sitchensis
Designated 1962. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Alaska — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Ordered by how closely each plant’s published hardiness range matches Alaska’s zones 1a-9a, so this is a shortlist by climate fit, not a ranking of which plants matter most here. 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 Alaska’s USDA zones 1a-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.
Extremely short growing season (70-110 frost-free days)
A high tunnel or greenhouse is standard Alaska practice — it turns 90 outdoor days into a real growing season.
Permafrost prevents deep root growth in many areas
Raised beds lift roots above the cold and warm weeks earlier in spring — the proven northern workaround.
Limited soil development in glacial terrain
Start with a soil test to see what glacial ground actually has, then build up with imported topsoil and steady compost.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Alaska, the UAF Cooperative Extension Service is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Alaska — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Alaska — 15,895 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 281 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Alaska 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 Alaska
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Alaska, two things run higher than the national average across Alaska — Mining (5,812 sites) and Superfund (281 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
Everything above resolves to Alaska as a whole — a state whose own counties record seasons 155 days apart, and hardiness across zones 1a-9a. Your parcel sits at one point in that range, not in the middle of it. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at state scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better statewide average.
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 1,086 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your lot that Alaska averages can't show:
We read public map data around Alaska — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Alaska average
The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read per county and aggregated to the state band; the growing season from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS 1991–2020 28°F normals, read at each county’s own record; rainfall from NOAA Climate Normals; soils from USDA NRCS SSURGO; boundaries from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination record from the federal sources named in that beat above. Where a county carries no record of its own, it is absent from the figure rather than filled in.
Alaska spans USDA hardiness zones 1a-9a — which is to say winter's coldest night runs from about −60°F to 25°F depending where in Alaska you are, averaged over 1991–2020 (USDA PHZM 2023).
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across Alaska, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near May 5, with the middle half of counties between Apr 16 and May 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Sep 24 and Oct 29 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. In a season this compact, fast finishers and cold-hardy greens do the late work, and garlic tucked in before the freeze repays you next summer.
Across Alaska, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Apr 16 and May 15, with a county median near May 5 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about May 26.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Alaska's counties mostly run about 125 to 196 days, with a county median near 147 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Alaska's zones 1a-9a support a wide range — strong performers include Cabbage, Potato, Rhubarb, Sitka Spruce, and Kale. 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, Alaska spans USDA zones 1a-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 1,086 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Alaska runs heavier than most — 15,895 documented sites, mostly Mining entries (5,812) — 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. Alaska spans USDA zones 1a-9a, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Apr 16 to May 15 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 15,895 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 above is measured at Alaska's scale — its 1a-9a band and its 147-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Alaska's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
5 of the readings below were taken at Alaska's own scale — the full zone 1a-9a span inside its borders, the 4 soil types that dominate its ground and 15,895 documented sites on its federal record; anything it cannot resolve at this scale is named below.
Measured here
What this page can’t tell you
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Alaska.
