What Grows in Summit County, Colorado

Summit County sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around May 2; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near May 30 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Sep 21 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. When the window is tight, the fall moves are quick ones — baby greens, radishes, and garlic set for next season.

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Summit County typically lands around May 30, 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.

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Summit County sees about 114 frost-free days — roughly May 30 through Sep 21, per 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.

Summit County's zone 5b supports 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, Summit County sits in USDA zone 5b (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 Summit County runs heavier than most — 493 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.

With about 114 frost-free days between hard freezes, Summit County 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 30 hard-freeze normal stretches the season without touching the calendar.