What Grows in Brick Center, Colorado

USDA Zones 6a · 4K acres

Brick Center, Colorado, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, and collard greens — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Brick Center, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Brick Center lot. 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 Brick Center — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Brick Center — the short answer

Brick Center, Colorado: USDA zone 6a, about 173 days between hard freezes, across 4K acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 27
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 17
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~173
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
4K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

6a6a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6a is Brick Center's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Brick Center's 173-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Brick Center

Each reading below is measured for Brick Center itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Brick Center runs about 173 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Brick Center sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Brick Center is in

Brick Center sits in the High Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Brick Center's own centroid rather than borrowed from Arapahoe County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Brick Center

Every plant below cleared Brick Center's own zone 6a and its 173-day season. Each card opens that plant's Colorado profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in ColoradoZones 2–11Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Colorado blackberry guideZones 5–8Brick Center's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in ColoradoZones 6–10Brick Center's 6a is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Colorado growing notesZones 2–11Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Growing cranberry in ColoradoZones 2–7Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Colorado lavender guideZones 5–8Brick Center's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in ColoradoZones 2–10Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Colorado growing notesZones 5–9Brick Center's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in ColoradoZones 3–8Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Colorado kale guideZones 2–11Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in ColoradoZones 5–9Brick Center's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Colorado growing notesBrick Center's 173 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in ColoradoZones 2–11Brick Center's 173 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Colorado okra guideZones 2–12Brick Center's 173 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in ColoradoZones 2–11Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Colorado growing notesZones 3–8Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in ColoradoZones 2–11Brick Center's 173 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Colorado azalea guideZones 4–8Brick Center's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in ColoradoZones 3–8Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Colorado growing notesZones 3–10Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in ColoradoBrick Center's 173 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Colorado lilac guideZones 4–10Brick Center's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in ColoradoZones 3–8Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Colorado growing notesZones 6–8Brick Center's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in ColoradoZones 3–9Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Colorado ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Brick Center's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in ColoradoZones 2–7Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Colorado growing notesZones 2–8Brick Center's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in ColoradoZones 2–10Brick Center's 173 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Colorado canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Brick Center's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Brick Center?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 30; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 17 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Even past midsummer there is room for a true fall garden here, and garlic planted near the close carries the momentum into next year.

What's on the federal record near Brick Center

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Brick Center. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. SC00506230CCC ARAPMAS21Nitrate · 4.5 mi
  2. FORMER LOWRY AFB TITAN MISSILE SITE 1 COMPLEX 1CSuperfund · 5.4 mi
  3. FORMER LOWRY AFB TITAN MISSILE SITE 1 COMPLEX 1BSuperfund · 6.4 mi
  4. Keith Hanlon FarmUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.5 mi
  5. DENVER RESEARCH INSTITUTEBrownfields · 6.5 mi
  6. KAZMIRA LLCBrownfields · 6.8 mi
  7. James & Barbara Whitehead PropertyUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.0 mi
  8. Meadows MarketUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.0 mi
  9. SC00606408DBB DAWMAS19Nitrate · 7.1 mi
  10. SC00406423CDB ARAPMAS16Nitrate · 7.1 mi
  11. AppOgee KazmiraUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.1 mi
  12. O E ABrownfields · 7.3 mi

5 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Brick Center's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Brick Center.

Total Sites

22

within ~10 miles of Brick Center

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

3 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Brick Center

High0Moderate15Low7

Highest-Severity Sites

Former Lowry Afb Titan Missile Site 1 Complex 1B
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
Former Lowry Afb Titan Missile Site 1 Complex 1C
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
Former Lowry Bombing & Gunnery Range
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
O E a
Toxics Release Inventory · 80015dncxx34501
Sc00406401cbb Aglusref2
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

Know Before You Grow

  • On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
  • Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Brick Center

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Brick Center average

Your land is one point inside Brick Center

Everything above resolves to Brick Center as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 4K acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. 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 town 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 local average.

Your Lot vs the Brick Center Average

Brick Center Average

  • USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Brick Center
  • One soil character for all of Brick Center
  • Frost dates read at Brick Center's scale: Apr 27 to Oct 17

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Brick Center's 6a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Brick Center

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Brick Center, Colorado — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Brick Center averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Brick Center averages 173Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Brick Center — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Brick Center average

How we know this about Brick Center

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Brick Center’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Brick Center

When does frost risk typically end in Brick Center?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Brick Center typically lands around Apr 27, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. 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 18.

When is the first frost in Brick Center?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Brick Center typically arrives around Oct 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 3, so the watching starts about Sep 17 — about 173 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Brick Center?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Brick Center sees about 173 frost-free days — roughly Apr 27 through Oct 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 18 to Oct 3, about 138 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Brick Center?

The federal record around Brick Center is a meaningful one — 22 documented sites, mostly Nitrate entries (10), the nearest Nitrate record about 4.5 miles out — 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Brick Center?

From about Sep 17 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Oct 17 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Oct 17. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Brick Center's scale — its 6a band and its 173-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Brick Center's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Brick Center’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Brick Center's own scale — its own ~173-day season between 28°F freezes, the 3,698 acres it covers and 22 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Brick Center's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Brick Center's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 27 and Oct 17 and the ~173-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 22 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Brick Center, the closest Nitrate record about 4.5 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Brick Center's boundary and the 3,698 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~173-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Brick Center's own centroid, the High PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Brick Center's 3,698 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Arapahoe County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Arapahoe County
  • The growing challenges every Colorado grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Colorado
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Arapahoe County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Brick Center's 3,698 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Brick Center you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 3,698 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 4.5 miles out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Brick Center-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address