What Grows in Micanopy, Florida

USDA Zones 9a · 664 acres

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

Well-matched crops include artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage, 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 Micanopy, 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 Micanopy 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 Micanopy — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Micanopy — the short answer

Micanopy, Florida: USDA zone 9a, about 306 days between hard freezes, across 664 acres of town.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 7
Alachua County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 10
Alachua County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~306
Alachua County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
664 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 Alachua County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9a9a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9a is Micanopy's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Micanopy's 306-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Micanopy

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

Season length

From county records

Micanopy runs about 306 days between hard freezes (read from Alachua County, the closest normal to Micanopy) — 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

Micanopy sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a.

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 Micanopy is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Micanopy

Every plant below cleared Micanopy's own zone 9a and its 306-day season. Each card opens that plant's Florida profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in FloridaZones 7–11Micanopy's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Florida fig guideZones 6–10Micanopy's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in FloridaZones 6–10Micanopy's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Florida growing notesZones 2–11Micanopy's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in FloridaZones 9–11Micanopy's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Florida rosemary guideZones 8–10Micanopy's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in FloridaZones 2–11Micanopy's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Florida growing notesZones 9–11Micanopy's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in FloridaMicanopy's 306 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Florida kale guideZones 2–11Micanopy's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in FloridaZones 2–11Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Florida growing notesZones 2–12Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in FloridaZones 2–11Micanopy's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Florida pumpkin guideZones 3–11Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in FloridaZones 2–11Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Florida growing notesZones 3–10Micanopy's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in FloridaZones 2–11Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Florida apache plume guideZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in FloridaZones 7–11Micanopy's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Florida growing notesZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in FloridaMicanopy's 306 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Florida holly guideZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in FloridaZones 7–10Micanopy's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Florida growing notesZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in FloridaZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Florida crab grass guideZones 7–11Micanopy's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in FloridaZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Florida growing notesZones 4–10Micanopy's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in FloridaZones 7–11Micanopy's 306 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Florida liriope guideZones 5–11Micanopy's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Micanopy?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 10; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 10 — 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 Micanopy

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

  1. WARD RONALD FUnderground Storage Tanks · 350 ft
  2. SOUTHERN BELL-MCNPFLMA 33464Underground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  3. MICANOPY COUNTRY STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 850 ft
  4. HASKINS HOUSE MICANOPY ROWUnderground Storage Tanks · 850 ft
  5. TOMPKINS LALLA ROOKUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  6. THRASHER BUILDINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  7. JOHNSON & SMITH PROPERTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1700 ft
  8. OSTEEN BROTHERS INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1800 ft
  9. PEARL COUNTRY STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  10. ABEL HOUSEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  11. MICANOPY TOWNUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  12. VECCHIOS RESTAURANTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi

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

Measured from Micanopy'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 Micanopy.

Total Sites

240

within ~10 miles of Micanopy

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

2 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Micanopy

High0Moderate56Low184

Highest-Severity Sites

253 Texaco
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
39TH Express
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Argos Ready Mix - Gainesville Plant
Toxics Release Inventory · 3260wgnsvl924su
Cemex Gainesville South
Toxics Release Inventory · 3260wcmxgn35swd
Chevron-Petes
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Micanopy, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 157 sites within ~10 miles of Micanopy. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Micanopy

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 Micanopy average

Your land is one point inside Micanopy

Everything above resolves to Micanopy as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 664 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Alachua 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 Micanopy Average

Micanopy Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Micanopy
  • One soil character for all of Micanopy
  • Frost dates read at Micanopy's scale: Feb 7 to Dec 10

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Micanopy's 9a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Micanopy

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Micanopy averages 306Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Micanopy

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 Alachua 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 Micanopy

When does frost risk typically end in Micanopy?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Micanopy typically lands around Feb 7, 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 28.

When is the first frost in Micanopy?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Micanopy typically arrives around Dec 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 26, so the watching starts about Nov 10 — about 306 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Micanopy?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Micanopy sees about 306 frost-free days — roughly Feb 7 through Dec 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 28 to Nov 26, about 271 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Micanopy?

The federal record around Micanopy is a meaningful one — 240 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (157), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks 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 Micanopy?

From about Nov 10 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 10 (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 10. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Micanopy's scale — its 9a band and its 306-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Micanopy'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 Micanopy’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Micanopy's own scale — the 664 acres it covers and 240 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Micanopy's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 240 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Micanopy, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Micanopy's boundary and the 664 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~306-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Micanopy's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Micanopy has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Alachua County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Micanopy's 664 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Alachua County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Alachua 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 Alachua County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Micanopy's 664 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Micanopy you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 664 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 Micanopy-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address