Indiana spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7b, with a growing season of about 209 frost-free days — a long runway that turns one growing season into what colder regions would call two.
The climate hand here is 36-46 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,153 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 2,500 winter chill hours for tree fruit — the numbers that decide what ripens comfortably and what runs out of runway. The prevailing soils — silt loam, clay loam, glacial till, and alluvial — differ most in how they drain, which is exactly where crop success is usually decided. What grows in Indiana depends on where in it you stand — Ohio River Valley, Southern Indiana & the Ohio River Valley, and Northwest Indiana / Lake Michigan Shoreline (Michiana Fruit Belt) each run on their own zones and frost timing. The conditions favor tomato, sweet corn, pawpaw, and peony, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD (PRISM 1991-2020 normals)•Chill hours (PRISM 1991-2020 normals)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Indiana spans zones 5b-7b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data around Indiana — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
Distinct growing regions within Indiana — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
Indiana: USDA zones 5b-7b, 191–232 frost-free days depending on the county, 92 counties.
The middle half of this state’s counties. Tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks past the last hard freeze. The shortest-season figure is Indiana's own county record — Steuben County's measured 28°F normal, not a modeled floor.
Indiana does not have one growing season. Across all 944 of its towns that carry their own 30-year record, the shortest measured season is Lake Holiday's at 184 days and the longest is New Albany's at 244 — a 60-day spread inside one state.
Neither end is a lone reading — another 23 towns measure within 10 days of Lake Holiday and 7 sit within 10 days of New Albany. These are real pockets, so the number to plant against is your own town's, not the state average.
NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991–2020), 30-year daily minimum record
Zone 5b-7b is Indiana's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Indiana's 209-day season, see what your own ground reads.
One answer for Indiana averages 92 counties whose growing seasons are 41 days apart — from 191 frost-free days in Steuben County to 232 in Posey County. That is the same state, measured the same way, in the same years. Which end of it your county sits nearer decides what finishes before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 92 counties runs 203–214 days, with a median of 209 days — a 41-day span end to end.
Measured across 92 counties, each carrying its own 28°F normal. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. A county with no record of its own is absent from the range rather than counted as zero — nothing here is interpolated to the state. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
The middle half of Indiana runs 203–214 frost-free days, and 39 of its 92 counties sit outside that — 20 on the short side, 19 on the long. A statewide planting date describes the middle well and the ends poorly, which is worth knowing before you follow one.
Under 203 frost-free days
20 counties
3 of 20 shown
The end of the state that sets the planting calendar — start seed indoors here and the season stretches to meet the crop.
203–214 frost-free days
53 counties
0 of 53 shown
The middle half of the state, and the part a single statewide date describes well.
Over 214 frost-free days
19 counties
3 of 19 shown
Long enough for a second succession of a quick crop after the first comes out.
Each county is placed by its own 28°F frost-free normal (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze), the same figure its own guide page publishes. Elevation, slope and cold-air drainage move a yard within its county as well — which is the part only your address resolves.
The soil types that dominate Indiana — 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. Each photo is a representative profile of that soil type; the named series is where it was documented, which is often another state.
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.
Loam tilted toward clay — heavier in the hand, slower to dry, and richer in nutrients than its sandier cousins. Clay particles carry a surface charge that holds fertilizer and minerals where roots can reach them.
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
Variable by the shovelful. Sandy till drains freely; dense, compacted till (hardpan) can perch water above it after snowmelt and heavy rain.
What thrives
Apples, stone fruits, brambles, and the whole northern vegetable garden do well on till — much of New England and the upper Midwest farms it. Deep-rooted perennials work through the stony structure happily.
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.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Indiana's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Indiana, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 7, with the middle half of counties between Apr 4 and Apr 9 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 30 and Nov 4 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.
The plants Indiana put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Peony
Paeonia
Designated 1957.
Liriodendron tulipifera
Designated 1931. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Indiana — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Ordered by how closely each plant’s published hardiness range matches Indiana’s zones 5b-7b, so this is a shortlist by climate fit, not a ranking of which plants matter most here. 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 Indiana’s USDA zones 5b-7b 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 clay soils limit drainage in many areas
Mounded rows and compost open clay up — and where water still stands, a raised bed ends the argument.
Late spring frosts through early May
Hold tender transplants until your local last-frost normal clears — hardy greens will happily take the early slot.
Hot humid summers promote blight and mildew
Mulch to stop soil splash, water at the base, and rotate crop families — the blight playbook your extension teaches.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Indiana, the Purdue Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Indiana — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Indiana — 33,216 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 423 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Indiana 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 Indiana
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Indiana, two things run higher than the national average across Indiana — Toxics Release Inventory (2,883 sites) and Superfund (423 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.
Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.
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.
Everything above resolves to Indiana as a whole — a state whose own counties record seasons 41 days apart, and hardiness across zones 5b-7b. Your parcel sits at one point in that range, not in the middle of it. 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 state 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 statewide average.
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 1,086 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your lot that Indiana averages can't show:
We read public map data around Indiana — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Indiana average
The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read per county and aggregated to the state band; the growing season from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS 1991–2020 28°F normals, read at each county’s own record; rainfall from NOAA Climate Normals; soils from USDA NRCS SSURGO; boundaries from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination record from the federal sources named in that beat above. Where a county carries no record of its own, it is absent from the figure rather than filled in.
Indiana spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-7b — which is to say winter's coldest night runs from about −15°F to 10°F depending where in Indiana you are, averaged over 1991–2020 (USDA PHZM 2023).
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Indiana, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 7, with the middle half of counties between Apr 4 and Apr 9 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 30 and Nov 4 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.
Across Indiana, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Apr 4 and Apr 9, with a county median near Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). 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 Apr 28.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Indiana's counties mostly run about 203 to 214 days, with a county median near 209 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Indiana's zones 5b-7b support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Sweet Corn, Pawpaw, Peony, and Apple. 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, Indiana spans USDA zones 5b-7b (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 1,086 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Indiana runs heavier than most — 33,216 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (17,731) — 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. Indiana spans USDA zones 5b-7b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Apr 4 to Apr 9 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 33,216 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 above is measured at Indiana's scale — its 5b-7b band and its 209-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Indiana's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
6 of the readings below were taken at Indiana's own scale — the full zone 5b-7b span inside its borders, the 4 soil types that dominate its ground and 33,216 documented sites on its federal record; anything it cannot resolve at this scale is named below.
Measured here
What this page can’t tell you
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Indiana.
