What Grows in Fleming, Colorado

USDA Zones 5b · 313 acres

Fleming, Colorado, sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Reliable performers under these conditions include cabbage, cranberry, lavender, and collard greens; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Fleming, 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 Fleming 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 Fleming — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Fleming — the short answer

Fleming, Colorado: USDA zone 5b, about 169 days between hard freezes, across 313 acres of town.

USDA zone
5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 29
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 15
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~169
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
313 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

5b5b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 5b is Fleming's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Fleming's 169-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Fleming

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

Season length

Measured

Fleming runs about 169 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

Fleming sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b.

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 Fleming is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Fleming

Every plant below cleared Fleming's own zone 5b and its 169-day season. Each card opens that plant's Colorado profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in ColoradoZones 2–11Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Colorado cranberry guideZones 2–7Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in ColoradoZones 5–8Fleming's 5b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Colorado growing notesZones 2–11Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Growing hazelnut in ColoradoZones 4–9Fleming's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Colorado st. johns wort guideZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in ColoradoZones 2–10Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry: Colorado growing notesZones 5–8Fleming's 5b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in ColoradoFleming's 169 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Colorado kale guideZones 2–11Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in ColoradoZones 5–9Fleming's 5b is its exact cold limit.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Colorado growing notesZones 2–11Fleming's 169 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in ColoradoZones 2–12Fleming's 169 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Colorado potato guideZones 2–11Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in ColoradoZones 3–11Fleming's 169 days clear the ~40 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Colorado growing notesZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in ColoradoZones 2–11Fleming's 169 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Colorado azalea guideZones 4–8Fleming's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in ColoradoZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Colorado growing notesZones 3–10Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in ColoradoFleming's 169 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Colorado lilac guideZones 4–10Fleming's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in ColoradoZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Canada anemone, photograph
Canada anemone: Colorado growing notesZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in ColoradoZones 3–9Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Colorado alfalfa guideZones 2–10Fleming's 169 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in ColoradoZones 2–7Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Colorado growing notesZones 2–8Fleming's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
annual ryegrass, photograph
Growing annual ryegrass in ColoradoZones 3–10Fleming's 169 days clear the ~90 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Colorado canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Fleming's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Fleming?

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 1; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 29 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 15 — 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 Fleming

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

  1. Grainland Co-OpUnderground Storage Tanks · 400 ft
  2. NIYOL WIND LLCBrownfields · 1200 ft
  3. Logan County Road & Bridge Department - Fleming ShopUnderground Storage Tanks · 1400 ft
  4. Rowan TruckingUnderground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  5. COLORADO HIGHLANDS WINDBrownfields · 5.5 mi
  6. SB00704818ADANitrate · 8.2 mi
  7. BAMFORD FEEDYARDCAFO · 9.0 mi
  8. DINKLAGE OF COLORADOCAFO · 9.2 mi
  9. SB00804719BBDNitrate · 9.6 mi
  10. Kuskies Interstate SinclairUnderground Storage Tanks · 9.8 mi
  11. CDOT CrookUnderground Storage Tanks · 9.8 mi
  12. Sterling Cattle Feeders LtdUnderground Storage Tanks · 9.9 mi

Measured from Fleming'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 Fleming.

Total Sites

14

within ~10 miles of Fleming

Risk Level

Low

Highest-severity

2 concentrated animal feeding operations

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Fleming

High0Moderate6Low8

Highest-Severity Sites

Grainland CO-Op
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Kuskies Interstate Sinclair
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Sb00704818ada
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Sb00704818ada
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Bamford Feedyard
Concentrated Animal Feeding · Terminated

Know Before You Grow

  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • 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.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Fleming

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 Fleming average

Your land is one point inside Fleming

Everything above resolves to Fleming as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 313 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 Fleming Average

Fleming Average

  • USDA Zones 5b, averaged across Fleming
  • One soil character for all of Fleming
  • Frost dates read at Fleming's scale: Apr 29 to Oct 15

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Fleming's 5b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Fleming

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Fleming averages 169Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Fleming

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 Fleming’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 Fleming

When does frost risk typically end in Fleming?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Fleming typically lands around Apr 29, 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 20.

When is the first frost in Fleming?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Fleming typically arrives around Oct 15, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 1, so the watching starts about Sep 15 — about 169 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Fleming?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Fleming sees about 169 frost-free days — roughly Apr 29 through Oct 15, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 20 to Oct 1, about 134 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Fleming?

The federal record around Fleming is light — 14 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (6), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Fleming?

From about Sep 15 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 15 (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 15. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Fleming's scale — its 5b band and its 169-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Fleming'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 Fleming’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Fleming's own scale — its own ~169-day season between 28°F freezes, the 313 acres it covers and 14 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Fleming's own USDA hardiness band, zones 5bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Fleming's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 29 and Oct 15 and the ~169-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 14 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Fleming, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Fleming's boundary and the 313 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 5b and a ~169-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Fleming's own centroid, the High PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Fleming's 313 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Logan County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Logan 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 Logan County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Fleming's 313 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Fleming you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 313 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Fleming-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address