What Grows in Edison, Georgia

USDA Zones 8b · 1K acres

Edison, Georgia, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Reliable performers under these conditions include cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Edison — the short answer

Edison, Georgia: USDA zone 8b, about 287 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of city.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 18
Calhoun County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 2
Calhoun County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~287
Calhoun County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City 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 Calhoun County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

8b8b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 8b is Edison's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Edison's 287-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Edison

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

Season length

From county records

Edison runs about 287 days between hard freezes (read from Calhoun County, the closest normal to Edison) — 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

Edison sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b.

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 Edison is in

Edison sits in the Southeastern Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Edison's own centroid rather than borrowed from Calhoun County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Edison

Every plant below cleared Edison's own zone 8b and its 287-day season. Each card opens that plant's Georgia profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in GeorgiaZones 2–11Edison's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Georgia fig guideZones 6–10Edison's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in GeorgiaZones 6–10Edison's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Georgia growing notesZones 2–11Edison's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in GeorgiaZones 7–10Edison's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Georgia rosemary guideZones 8–10Edison's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in GeorgiaZones 2–11Edison's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Georgia growing notesZones 7–10Edison's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in GeorgiaZones 5–8Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Georgia lentil guideZones 2–11Edison's 287 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in GeorgiaZones 5–10Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Georgia growing notesZones 2–12Edison's 287 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in GeorgiaZones 5–9Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Georgia potato guideZones 2–11Edison's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in GeorgiaZones 3–11Edison's 287 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Georgia growing notesZones 3–10Edison's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in GeorgiaZones 2–11Edison's 287 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Georgia apache plume guideZones 5–11Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in GeorgiaZones 3–8Edison's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Georgia growing notesZones 3–8Edison's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in GeorgiaEdison's 287 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Georgia holly guideZones 5–11Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in GeorgiaZones 7–10Edison's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Georgia growing notesZones 6–8Edison's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in GeorgiaZones 5–11Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Georgia pearl millet guideZones 5–11Edison's 287 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in GeorgiaZones 5–11Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Georgia growing notesZones 4–10Edison's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in GeorgiaZones 2–11Edison's 287 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Georgia liriope guideZones 5–11Edison's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Edison?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 21; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 2 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. In a climate this gentle, “too late” hardly applies — the question becomes which crops prefer the cooler months ahead.

What's on the federal record near Edison

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

  1. GEORGIA FORESTRY COMMISSION/CALHUnderground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  2. 08L001Nitrate · 800 ft
  3. FREDDIE GLEATONUnderground Storage Tanks · 900 ft
  4. WHATLEY CONVENIENCE STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  5. EDISON CONVENIENCE STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  6. CALHOUN CO HIGH SCHOOLUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  7. TIMS TRADING POSTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  8. CITY OF EDISONUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  9. 07L021Nitrate · 3.6 mi
  10. D CONNER COLLINS FARMUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.1 mi
  11. FERGUSON FARMUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.8 mi
  12. 07M001Nitrate · 6.1 mi

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

Measured from Edison'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 Edison.

Total Sites

48

within ~10 miles of Edison

Risk Level

Low

Highest-severity

10 nitrate monitoring sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Edison

High0Moderate23Low25

Highest-Severity Sites

07l021
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
07l021
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
08l001
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
08l001
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
09l004
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Edison, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 38 sites within ~10 miles of Edison. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

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 Edison

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 Edison average

Your land is one point inside Edison

Everything above resolves to Edison as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Calhoun County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this city’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 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 Edison Average

Edison Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Edison
  • One soil character for all of Edison
  • Frost dates read at Edison's scale: Feb 18 to Dec 2

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Edison's 8b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Edison

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Edison averages 287Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Edison

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 Calhoun 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 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 Edison

When does frost risk typically end in Edison?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Edison typically lands around Feb 18, 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 Mar 11.

When is the first frost in Edison?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Edison typically arrives around Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 18, so the watching starts about Nov 2 — about 287 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Edison?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Edison sees about 287 frost-free days — roughly Feb 18 through Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 11 to Nov 18, about 252 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Edison?

The federal record around Edison is light — 48 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (38), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Edison?

From about Nov 2 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 2 (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 2. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Edison's scale — its 8b band and its 287-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Edison'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 Edison’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Edison's own scale — the 1,498 acres it covers and 48 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Edison's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 48 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Edison, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Edison's boundary and the 1,498 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~287-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Edison's own centroid, the Southeastern PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Edison has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Calhoun County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Edison's 1,498 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Calhoun County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Calhoun County
  • The growing challenges every Georgia grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Georgia
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Calhoun County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Edison's 1,498 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Edison you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,498 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks 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 Edison-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address