Georgia spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-9a, with a growing season of about 220 frost-free days — time enough for slow-finishing crops, second sowings, and a genuine fall garden.
What the season actually delivers comes down to 45-55 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 5,000 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 600 winter chill hours for tree fruit. On the soil map, red clay (Piedmont), sandy loam (Coastal Plain), alluvial, and mountain loam dominate — and drainage is the trait that separates an easy bed from a project. What grows in Georgia depends on where in it you stand — Appalachia, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge each run on their own zones and frost timing. Among the crops suited to this profile: peach, vidalia onion, pecan, and tomato. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Georgia spans zones 6b-9a, 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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Distinct growing regions within Georgia — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
6b-9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Mar 1 - Apr 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 15 - Nov 30
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
45-55 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Georgia. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Georgia — 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
Slow. Red clay seals under pounding rain and sheds water across the surface, then holds tight to what soaks in.
What thrives
Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, and muscadines are traditional red-clay performers, and many fruit trees root deep into it once through the first year. Azaleas and blueberries appreciate its typical acidity.
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.
Drainage
Usually good: rivers sort their loads, and most alluvial soils have enough sand and silt to move water while holding plenty for roots. Low-lying pockets can run wet.
What thrives
Nearly everything — vegetables, orchards, vines, and berries all prosper on alluvium. Its depth lets roots go as far down as they care to.
No single photo represents mountain loam honestly — it changes bench to bench. See the loam profile above for the base texture.
Drainage
Usually good to fast, because slopes shed water and the rock fraction keeps the profile open. South-facing ground dries markedly faster than north-facing.
What thrives
Cool-season vegetables, berries, and hardy perennials suited to the elevation. Short seasons matter more than the soil here — choose varieties bred for quick maturity.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Georgia's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
The plants Georgia put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Cherokee rose
Rosa laevigata
Designated 1916.
Quercus virginiana
Designated 1937. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Vidalia sweet onion
Designated 1990.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Georgia — 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 Georgia’s USDA zones 6b-9a 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.
Heavy red Piedmont clay is difficult to work and drains poorly
Compost and patience open red clay up — or a raised bed gets you growing today while the ground improves underneath.
High humidity drives fungal diseases in summer
Morning watering at the base, generous spacing, and resistant varieties — the humid-South disease playbook, straight from your extension.
Fire ants are a persistent pest in gardens across the state
Bait mounds early in the season and keep bed edges mulched — your extension office runs the current two-step control program.
Summer heat (90-100F) can stress cool-season crops by May
Run cool-season crops in the fall-through-spring windows and let summer belong to the heat-lovers.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Georgia, the UGA Cooperative Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Georgia — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Georgia — 37,000 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 521 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Georgia 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.
Severity Distribution
across Georgia
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Georgia, two things run higher than the national average — Superfund (521 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (24,572 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.
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
Georgia spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-9a, 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 Georgia is typically around Mar 1 - Apr 15, and the first fall frost around Oct 15 - Nov 30, per NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991–2020). Your specific site may differ — frost dates vary by elevation, proximity to water, and local microclimate.
Georgia's zones 6b-9a support a wide range — strong performers include Peach, Vidalia Onion, Pecan, Tomato, and Blueberry. 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, Georgia spans USDA zones 6b-9a (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 Georgia runs heavier than most — 37,000 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. Georgia spans USDA zones 6b-9a, which sets what survives winter; the statewide frost window runs about Mar 1 - Apr 15 to Oct 15 - Nov 30 (NOAA 30-year climate normals); and 37,000 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 Georgia 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 Georgia.
