What Grows in Avon, Colorado

Avon sits in USDA hardiness zones 6a-7b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Apr 21; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near May 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Sep 28 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Even here the calendar’s edges hold value: thirty-day greens late in the window, then garlic and a rested bed for spring.

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Avon typically lands around May 19, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — an earlier marker than the light-frost dates many planting charts quote. 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.

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Avon typically arrives around Sep 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point most tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts usually reach a couple of weeks earlier, so watch the forecast from late summer on and harvest or cover tender plants before the first cold night.

Avon's zones 6a-7b support a wide range — strong performers include Colorado Blue Spruce, Tomato, Penstemon, Apple, and Peach. 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, Avon sits in USDA zones 6a-7b (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 around Avon is a meaningful one — 188 documented sites — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

With about 132 frost-free days between hard freezes, Avon rewards the classic extension moves: floating row cover buys roughly two to four extra weeks at each shoulder, cold frames and low tunnels more, and quick-maturing varieties make the arithmetic work. Starting transplants indoors ahead of the May 19 hard-freeze normal stretches the season without touching the calendar.