What Grows in Greenwood Village, Colorado

USDA Zones 6a · 5K acres

Greenwood Village, Colorado, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Crops well matched to these conditions include cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, and collard greens — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Greenwood Village — the short answer

Greenwood Village, Colorado: USDA zone 6a, about 176 days between hard freezes, across 5K acres of city.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 24
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
~176
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
5K 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 Greenwood Village's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Greenwood Village's 176-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Greenwood Village

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

Season length

Measured

Greenwood Village runs about 176 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

Greenwood Village 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 Greenwood Village is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Greenwood Village

Every plant below cleared Greenwood Village's own zone 6a and its 176-day season. Each card opens that plant's Colorado profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in ColoradoZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Colorado blackberry guideZones 5–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in ColoradoZones 6–10Greenwood Village's 6a is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Colorado growing notesZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Growing cranberry in ColoradoZones 2–7Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Colorado lavender guideZones 5–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in ColoradoZones 2–10Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Colorado growing notesZones 5–9Greenwood Village's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in ColoradoZones 3–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Colorado kale guideZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in ColoradoZones 5–9Greenwood Village's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Colorado growing notesGreenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in ColoradoZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Colorado okra guideZones 2–12Greenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in ColoradoZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Colorado growing notesZones 3–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in ColoradoZones 2–11Greenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Colorado azalea guideZones 4–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in ColoradoZones 3–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Colorado growing notesZones 3–10Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in ColoradoGreenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Colorado lilac guideZones 4–10Greenwood Village's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in ColoradoZones 3–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Colorado growing notesZones 6–8Greenwood Village's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in ColoradoZones 3–9Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Colorado ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Greenwood Village's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in ColoradoZones 2–7Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Colorado growing notesZones 2–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in ColoradoZones 2–10Greenwood Village's 176 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Colorado canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Greenwood Village's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Greenwood Village?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 27; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 24 (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. As the window narrows, the plantings just get faster — fall brassicas, then greens, then garlic to finish.

What's on the federal record near Greenwood Village

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

  1. SC00506717BDD GREENWOODNitrate · 750 ft
  2. SC00506717BDCNitrate · 1600 ft
  3. GREENWOOD ASC LLCBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  4. HARVARD PARK ORTHOPEDICSBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  5. Raytheon Engineers & ContructorsUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  6. MILE HIGH SURGICENTER LLCBrownfields · 0.6 mi
  7. Castlewood Fire Station 32Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  8. CST Metro LLC DBA Corner Store #4099Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  9. Kuni Lexus Of Greenwood VillageUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  10. Amoco #5475Underground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  11. ConocoPhillips Site 6518Underground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  12. Plaza ColoradoUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi

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

Measured from Greenwood Village'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 Greenwood Village.

Total Sites

3,467

within ~10 miles of Greenwood Village

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

22 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Greenwood Village

High7Moderate866Low2,594

Highest-Severity Sites

Arapahoe Cnty Wwwa
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
East Cherry Creek Valley Wsd
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Englewood City of
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Inverness Wsd
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
2045 Corporation
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

Know Before You Grow

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

Check your specific parcel in Greenwood Village

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 Greenwood Village average

Your land is one point inside Greenwood Village

Everything above resolves to Greenwood Village as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 5K 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 city 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 Greenwood Village Average

Greenwood Village Average

  • USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Greenwood Village
  • One soil character for all of Greenwood Village
  • Frost dates read at Greenwood Village's scale: Apr 24 to Oct 17

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Greenwood Village

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Greenwood Village averages 176Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Greenwood Village

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Greenwood Village’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 city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-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 Greenwood Village

When does frost risk typically end in Greenwood Village?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Greenwood Village typically lands around Apr 24, 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 15.

When is the first frost in Greenwood Village?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Greenwood Village 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 176 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Greenwood Village?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Greenwood Village sees about 176 frost-free days — roughly Apr 24 through Oct 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 15 to Oct 3, about 141 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Greenwood Village?

The federal record around Greenwood Village is a meaningful one — 3,467 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (1,863), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.1 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 Greenwood Village?

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 Greenwood Village's scale — its 6a band and its 176-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Greenwood Village'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 Greenwood Village’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Greenwood Village's own scale — its own ~176-day season between 28°F freezes, the 5,289 acres it covers and 3,467 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Greenwood Village's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Greenwood Village's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 24 and Oct 17 and the ~176-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 3,467 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Greenwood Village, the closest Nitrate record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Greenwood Village's boundary and the 5,289 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~176-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Greenwood Village's own centroid, the High PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Greenwood Village's 5,289 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 Greenwood Village's 5,289 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Greenwood Village you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 5,289 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.1 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 Greenwood Village-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address