What Grows in Lewisburg, Louisiana

USDA Zones 9a · 319 acres

Lewisburg, Louisiana, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

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

Score your parcel · free

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

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Lewisburg — the short answer

Lewisburg, Louisiana: USDA zone 9a, about 300 days between hard freezes, across 319 acres of town.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 8
St. Tammany Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 5
St. Tammany Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~300
St. Tammany Parish normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
319 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 St. Tammany 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 Lewisburg's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Lewisburg's 300-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Lewisburg

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

Season length

From county records

Lewisburg runs about 300 days between hard freezes (read from St. Tammany Parish, the closest normal to Lewisburg) — 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

Lewisburg 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 Lewisburg is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Lewisburg

Every plant below cleared Lewisburg's own zone 9a and its 300-day season. Each card opens that plant's Louisiana profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in LouisianaZones 7–11Lewisburg's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Louisiana fig guideZones 6–10Lewisburg's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in LouisianaZones 6–10Lewisburg's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Louisiana growing notesZones 2–11Lewisburg's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in LouisianaZones 9–11Lewisburg's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Louisiana rosemary guideZones 8–10Lewisburg's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in LouisianaZones 2–11Lewisburg's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Louisiana growing notesZones 9–11Lewisburg's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in LouisianaLewisburg's 300 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Louisiana kale guideZones 2–11Lewisburg's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in LouisianaZones 2–11Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Louisiana growing notesZones 2–12Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in LouisianaZones 2–11Lewisburg's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Louisiana pumpkin guideZones 3–11Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in LouisianaZones 2–11Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Louisiana growing notesZones 3–10Lewisburg's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in LouisianaZones 2–11Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Louisiana apache plume guideZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in LouisianaZones 7–11Lewisburg's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Louisiana growing notesZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in LouisianaLewisburg's 300 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Louisiana holly guideZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in LouisianaZones 7–10Lewisburg's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Louisiana growing notesZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in LouisianaZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Louisiana crab grass guideZones 7–11Lewisburg's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in LouisianaZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Louisiana growing notesZones 4–10Lewisburg's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in LouisianaZones 7–11Lewisburg's 300 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Louisiana liriope guideZones 5–11Lewisburg's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Lewisburg?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 11; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 8 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 5 — 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 Lewisburg

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

  1. Fuel SmartUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  2. Shoreline MobilUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  3. SHORELINE MOBILBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  4. MOTIVA ENTERPRISES LLC #137452Brownfields · 0.5 mi
  5. QUALITY CLNRS & SVCBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  6. DUO FAST DIXIE INCBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  7. Blossman Oil CoUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  8. C-INNOVATION, LLCBrownfields · 0.7 mi
  9. Mariner's Village Marina IncUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  10. WINN DIXIE 1446Brownfields · 0.8 mi
  11. FERTILITY INSTITUTE OF NOBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  12. ST-552Nitrate · 0.8 mi

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

Measured from Lewisburg'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 Lewisburg.

Total Sites

627

within ~10 miles of Lewisburg

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

2 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Lewisburg

High8Moderate156Low463

Highest-Severity Sites

Beau Chene Water System
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Covington Water Supply
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Madisonville Creosote Works
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Magnolia Water Utilities - Greenleaves
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mandeville Water Supply
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Lewisburg, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Lewisburg — PFAS (7 sites) and Brownfields (346 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

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

Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties where legacy soil contamination (heavy metals, PAHs, petroleum compounds) may persist.

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

Check EPA brownfield remediation status — many sites have completed cleanup with institutional controls.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Lewisburg

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 Lewisburg average

Your land is one point inside Lewisburg

Everything above resolves to Lewisburg as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 319 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from St. Tammany 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 Lewisburg Average

Lewisburg Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Lewisburg
  • One soil character for all of Lewisburg
  • Frost dates read at Lewisburg's scale: Feb 8 to Dec 5

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Lewisburg

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Lewisburg averages 300Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Lewisburg

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 St. Tammany 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 Lewisburg

When does frost risk typically end in Lewisburg?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Lewisburg typically lands around Feb 8, 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 1.

When is the first frost in Lewisburg?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Lewisburg typically arrives around Dec 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 21, so the watching starts about Nov 5 — about 300 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Lewisburg?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Lewisburg sees about 300 frost-free days — roughly Feb 8 through Dec 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 1 to Nov 21, about 265 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Lewisburg?

The federal record around Lewisburg is a meaningful one — 627 documented sites, mostly Brownfields entries (346), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 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 Lewisburg?

From about Nov 5 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 5 (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 5. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Lewisburg's scale — its 9a band and its 300-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Lewisburg'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 Lewisburg’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Lewisburg's own scale — the 319 acres it covers and 627 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Lewisburg's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 627 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Lewisburg, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Lewisburg's boundary and the 319 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~300-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Lewisburg's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Lewisburg has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom St. Tammany Parish
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Lewisburg's 319 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom St. Tammany County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom St. Tammany 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 St. Tammany County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Lewisburg's 319 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Lewisburg you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 319 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.5 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 Lewisburg-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address