What Grows in Amite City, Louisiana

USDA Zones 9a · 2K acres

Amite City, Louisiana, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Growers here do well with artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Amite City — the short answer

Amite City, Louisiana: USDA zone 9a, about 291 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of town.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 15
Tangipahoa Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 3
Tangipahoa Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~291
Tangipahoa Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
2K 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 Tangipahoa Parish’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 Amite City's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Amite City's 291-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Amite City

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

Season length

From county records

Amite City runs about 291 days between hard freezes (read from Tangipahoa Parish, the closest normal to Amite City) — 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

Amite City 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 Amite City is in

Amite City sits in the Southern Coastal Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Amite City's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: Tangipahoa Parish is mostly Southeastern Plains. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Amite City

Every plant below cleared Amite City's own zone 9a and its 291-day season. Each card opens that plant's Louisiana profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in LouisianaZones 7–11Amite City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Louisiana fig guideZones 6–10Amite City's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in LouisianaZones 6–10Amite City's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Louisiana growing notesZones 2–11Amite City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in LouisianaZones 9–11Amite City's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Louisiana rosemary guideZones 8–10Amite City's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in LouisianaZones 2–11Amite City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Louisiana growing notesZones 9–11Amite City's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in LouisianaAmite City's 291 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Louisiana kale guideZones 2–11Amite City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in LouisianaZones 2–11Amite City's 291 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Louisiana growing notesZones 2–12Amite City's 291 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in LouisianaZones 2–11Amite City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Louisiana pumpkin guideZones 3–11Amite City's 291 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in LouisianaZones 2–11Amite City's 291 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Louisiana growing notesZones 3–10Amite City's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in LouisianaZones 2–11Amite City's 291 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Louisiana apache plume guideZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in LouisianaZones 7–11Amite City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Louisiana growing notesZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in LouisianaAmite City's 291 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Louisiana holly guideZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in LouisianaZones 7–10Amite City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Louisiana growing notesZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in LouisianaZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Louisiana crab grass guideZones 7–11Amite City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in LouisianaZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Louisiana growing notesZones 4–10Amite City's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in LouisianaZones 7–11Amite City's 291 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Louisiana liriope guideZones 5–11Amite City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Amite City?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 18; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 3 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.

What's on the federal record near Amite City

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

  1. HOOD MEMORIAL HOSPITALBrownfields · 1000 ft
  2. Amite JailUnderground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  3. Pardner's Handi PakUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  4. DOLLAR GENERAL #601Brownfields · 2000 ft
  5. O'REILLY AUTO PARTS 747Brownfields · 2000 ft
  6. On The Run #20Underground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  7. Buddy's Quick StopUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  8. AUTO ZONE 3040Brownfields · 2100 ft
  9. Jr Food Mart #185Underground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  10. WALGREEN DRUG STORE 13604Brownfields · 2300 ft
  11. Frohn HondaUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  12. TANGI INDUSTRIAL SALES LLCBrownfields · 2300 ft

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

Measured from Amite City'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 Amite City.

Total Sites

284

within ~10 miles of Amite City

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

9 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Amite City

High1Moderate121Low162

Highest-Severity Sites

Tangipahoa (Second Ward) Water District
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Al Aqaba Lebanese Restaurant
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Anna'S Food Mart INC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Arcola Chevron
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bradken - Amite - Foundry
Toxics Release Inventory · 70422mtfnd13040

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Amite City, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Amite City — CAFO (4 sites) and PFAS (3 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Amite City

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 Amite City average

Your land is one point inside Amite City

Everything above resolves to Amite City as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 2K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Tangipahoa Parish’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 Amite City Average

Amite City Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Amite City
  • One soil character for all of Amite City
  • Frost dates read at Amite City's scale: Feb 15 to Dec 3

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Amite City

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Amite City averages 291Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Amite City

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 Tangipahoa Parish’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 Amite City

When does frost risk typically end in Amite City?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Amite City typically lands around Feb 15, 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 8.

When is the first frost in Amite City?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Amite City typically arrives around Dec 3, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 19, so the watching starts about Nov 3 — about 291 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Amite City?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Amite City sees about 291 frost-free days — roughly Feb 15 through Dec 3, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 8 to Nov 19, about 256 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Amite City?

The federal record around Amite City is a meaningful one — 284 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (119), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.2 miles 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 Amite City?

From about Nov 3 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 3 (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 3. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Amite City's scale — its 9a band and its 291-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Amite City'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 Amite City’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Amite City's own scale — the 2,481 acres it covers and 284 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Amite City's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 284 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Amite City, the closest Brownfields record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Amite City's boundary and the 2,481 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~291-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Amite City sits in the Southern Coastal Plain — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Amite City has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Tangipahoa Parish
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Amite City's 2,481 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Tangipahoa County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Tangipahoa County
  • The growing challenges every Louisiana grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Louisiana
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Tangipahoa County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Amite City's 2,481 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Amite City you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 2,481 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 0.2 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 Amite City-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address