Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8a, with a growing season of about 220 frost-free days — a long runway that turns one growing season into what colder regions would call two.
Those zone numbers rest on 44-56 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 4,200 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 900 winter chill hours for tree fruit — the measurements that do the deciding. Underfoot it's mostly silt loam, sandy loam, red clay, and alluvial — and how those drain decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Between Mississippi Delta and The Ozarks, the growing rules shift enough that zone and frost advice only turns precise once you pick your region. Among the crops suited to this profile: tomato, peach, muscadine grape, and sweet potato. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.
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
Arkansas spans zones 6b-8a, 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 Arkansas — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
6b-8a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Mar 15 - Apr 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 15 - Nov 10
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
44-56 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Arkansas. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Arkansas — 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
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
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
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
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 Arkansas's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Arkansas, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Feb 10, with the middle half of counties between Feb 3 and Feb 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Dec 7 and Dec 21 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.
The plants Arkansas put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Apple blossom
Malus
Designated 1901.
Pinus taeda
Designated 1939. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
South Arkansas vine ripe pink tomato
Designated 1987.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Arkansas — 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 Arkansas’s USDA zones 6b-8a 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.
Hot, humid summers drive fungal and bacterial diseases
Morning base-watering, wide spacing, and resistant varieties keep disease manageable — your extension lists what holds up here.
Heavy clay soils in parts of the Ozarks
A raised bed gets you growing this season; compost worked in each fall opens the clay for the long run.
Severe spring storms and hail risk
Keep row cover staged through storm season — five minutes of shelter can save a bed of seedlings from hail.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Arkansas, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Arkansas — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Arkansas — 21,012 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 88 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Arkansas 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 Arkansas
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Arkansas, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 5,938 sites nearby. 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.
Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).
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
Arkansas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-8a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Arkansas, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Feb 10, with the middle half of counties between Feb 3 and Feb 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Dec 7 and Dec 21 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.
Across Arkansas, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Feb 3 and Feb 19, with a county median near Feb 10 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Arkansas's counties mostly run about 289 to 319 days, with a county median near 307 (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.
Arkansas's zones 6b-8a support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Peach, Muscadine Grape, Sweet Potato, and Blackberry. 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, Arkansas spans USDA zones 6b-8a (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 Arkansas runs heavier than most — 21,012 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. Arkansas spans USDA zones 6b-8a, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Feb 3 to Feb 19 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 21,012 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas.
