District of Columbia spans USDA hardiness zones 7b-8a, with a growing season of about 190 frost-free days — a true four-season rhythm: spring greens, a full summer main crop, and a fall window that rewards planning.
Behind the zone label sits the real climate engine: 39-43 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,500 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,200 winter chill hours for tree fruit. The dominant soils run to urban fill, silt loam, clay loam, and sandy loam (Coastal Plain), and their drainage is one of the strongest predictors of which crops take hold and which falter. Reliable performers under these conditions include tomato, fig, crape myrtle, and kale; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
District of Columbia spans zones 7b-8a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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USDA Zones
7b-8a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 1 - Apr 20
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 25 - Nov 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
39-43 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across District of Columbia. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate District of Columbia — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Unpredictable — buried rubble can drain like gravel while compacted fill sheds water like pavement, sometimes within the same yard.
What thrives
Plenty, once you know what you are working over: street trees, tough perennials, and productive raised-bed vegetable gardens are the backbone of urban growing.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
No verified open-license photo yet — this loam is close kin to the loam and silt-loam profiles above.
Drainage
Slow to moderate. Water lingers in the root zone longer than in loam, which is a gift in dry summers and a challenge in wet springs.
What thrives
Heavy feeders that appreciate steady moisture — brassicas, corn, beans, and many fruit trees. Perennials with strong root systems establish well once they are through the first season.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to District of Columbia's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
The plants District of Columbia put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
American Beauty rose
Rosa
Designated 1925.
Scarlet oak
Quercus coccinea
Designated 1960.
Cherry
Designated 2006.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in District of Columbia — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps District of Columbia’s USDA zones 7b-8a but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Dense urban siting means small lots, compacted fill soils, and limited sun
Containers and grow bags turn patios and rooftops into productive ground — and imported mix sidesteps fill-soil questions entirely.
Summer heat and humidity promote fungal diseases
Space for airflow, water mornings at the base, and lean on resistant varieties — the extension's humid-summer playbook.
The urban heat-island effect pushes summer temperatures above surrounding suburbs
The city's extra warmth is usable — it stretches the season for heat-lovers; check your true effective zone and plant to it.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to District of Columbia, the UDC Center for Urban Agriculture is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across District of Columbia — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across District of Columbia — 2,435 documented sites across 6 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 50 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
District of Columbia carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across District of Columbia
Severity Distribution
across District of Columbia
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around District of Columbia, Superfund runs higher than the national average — 50 sites nearby. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
District of Columbia spans USDA hardiness zones 7b-8a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
The last spring frost in District of Columbia is typically around Apr 1 - Apr 20, and the first fall frost around Oct 25 - Nov 15, per NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991–2020). Your specific site may differ — frost dates vary by elevation, proximity to water, and local microclimate.
District of Columbia's zones 7b-8a support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Fig, Crape Myrtle, Kale, and American Holly. 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, District of Columbia spans USDA zones 7b-8a (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 across District of Columbia runs heavier than most — 2,435 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.
Start with three facts. District of Columbia spans USDA zones 7b-8a, which sets what survives winter; the statewide frost window runs about Apr 1 - Apr 20 to Oct 25 - Nov 15 (NOAA 30-year climate normals); and 2,435 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a District of Columbia average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in District of Columbia.
