What Grows in Dade City North, Florida

USDA Zones 9b · 1K acres

Dade City North, Florida, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Well-matched crops include okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Dade City North — the short answer

Dade City North, Florida: USDA zone 9b, about 325 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
9b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Jan 27
Pasco County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 18
Pasco County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~325
Pasco County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
1K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Pasco County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9b9b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9b is Dade City North's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Dade City North's 325-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Dade City North

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

Season length

From county records

Dade City North runs about 325 days between hard freezes (read from Pasco County, the closest normal to Dade City North) — close to year-round growing.

Frost is rarely the limit here; winter plantings are as real as summer ones, and the harder question is which crops shrug off the summer heat.

Grow cool-season crops through the mild winter, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for the summer beds.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Dade City North sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b.

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 Dade City North is in

Dade City North sits in the Southern Coastal Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Dade City North's own centroid rather than borrowed from Pasco County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Dade City North

Every plant below cleared Dade City North's own zone 9b and its 325-day season. Each card opens that plant's Florida profile. How we score.

okra, photograph
Growing okra in FloridaZones 2–12Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Florida meyer lemon guideZones 9–11Dade City North's 9b is its exact cold limit.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in FloridaZones 6–10Dade City North's 9b — 3 zones of cold margin.
artichoke, photograph
Artichoke: Florida growing notesZones 7–11Dade City North's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Growing avocado in FloridaZones 9–11Dade City North's 9b is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Florida rosemary guideZones 8–10Dade City North's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage in FloridaZones 2–11Dade City North's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
banana, photograph
Banana: Florida growing notesZones 9–11Dade City North's 9b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in FloridaDade City North's 325 days clear the ~90 it needs.
collard greens, photograph
Florida collard greens guideZones 2–11Dade City North's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Kale in FloridaZones 2–11Dade City North's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Florida growing notesZones 2–11Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~70 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in FloridaZones 2–11Dade City North's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Florida pumpkin guideZones 3–11Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in FloridaZones 2–11Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Florida growing notesZones 3–10Dade City North's 9b — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in FloridaZones 2–11Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Florida apache plume guideZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in FloridaZones 7–11Dade City North's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
agave, photograph
Agave: Florida growing notesZones 8–11Dade City North's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in FloridaDade City North's 325 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Florida holly guideZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in FloridaZones 7–10Dade City North's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Florida growing notesZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
palo verde, photograph
Growing palo verde in FloridaZones 8–11Dade City North's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
jungle rice, photograph
Florida jungle rice guideZones 7–13Dade City North's 325 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in FloridaZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Florida growing notesZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
lablab, photograph
Growing lablab in FloridaZones 7–13Dade City North's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
liriope, photograph
Florida liriope guideZones 5–11Dade City North's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Dade City North?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 1; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Jan 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 18 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With almost year-round growing weather, timing is about heat and rainfall more than frost — some bench is always in play.

What's on the federal record near Dade City North

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

  1. SURRATT TRANSPORT INCBrownfields · 150 ft
  2. D & K TRANSPORT INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 200 ft
  3. D & K TRANSPORT INCBrownfields · 250 ft
  4. DADE CITY CITY-WWTPUnderground Storage Tanks · 700 ft
  5. PASCO RECYCLING INCBrownfields · 800 ft
  6. SURECRETE LLCBrownfields · 1700 ft
  7. B & E STARTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1700 ft
  8. BEST AUTO & TRUCK RECYCLERSBrownfields · 1700 ft
  9. SURECRETE DESIGN PRODUCTS, INC.Toxics Release Inventory · 1800 ft
  10. HM CLASSICS INCBrownfields · 1800 ft
  11. FRANCES M PLESSUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  12. FLOYD PHILMONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft

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

Measured from Dade City North'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 Dade City North.

Total Sites

338

within ~10 miles of Dade City North

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Dade City North

High2Moderate71Low265

Highest-Severity Sites

Dade City Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
54-East Flrd Well Near Branchborough Fl
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
54-East Flrd Well Near Branchborough Fl
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
6005 Sunoco Food Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven Store #37654
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 Dade City North

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 Dade City North average

Your land is one point inside Dade City North

Everything above resolves to Dade City North as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Pasco County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid. 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 Dade City North Average

Dade City North Average

  • USDA Zones 9b, averaged across Dade City North
  • One soil character for all of Dade City North
  • Frost dates read at Dade City North's scale: Jan 27 to Dec 18

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Dade City North's 9b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Dade City North

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Dade City North, Florida — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Dade City North averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Dade City North averages 325Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Dade City North average

How we know this about Dade City North

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 Pasco County’s record, because none resolves here; 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 Dade City North

When does frost risk typically end in Dade City North?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Dade City North typically lands around Jan 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 Feb 17.

When is the first frost in Dade City North?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Dade City North typically arrives around Dec 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Dec 4, so the watching starts about Nov 18 — about 325 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Dade City North?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Dade City North sees about 325 frost-free days — roughly Jan 27 through Dec 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 17 to Dec 4, about 290 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Dade City North?

The federal record around Dade City North is a meaningful one — 338 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (207), the nearest Brownfields record under a tenth of a mile 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 Dade City North?

From about Nov 18 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 Dec 18 (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 Dec 18. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Dade City North's scale — its 9b band and its 325-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Dade City North'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 Dade City North’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Dade City North's own scale — the 1,050 acres it covers and 338 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Dade City North's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 338 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Dade City North, the closest Brownfields record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Dade City North's boundary and the 1,050 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9b and a ~325-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Dade City North's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Dade City North has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Pasco County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Dade City North's 1,050 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Pasco County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Pasco County
  • The growing challenges every Florida grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Florida
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Pasco County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Dade City North's 1,050 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Dade City North you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,050 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields 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 Dade City North-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address