What Grows in Rogers, Minnesota

USDA Zones 4b · 16K acres

Rogers, Minnesota, sits in USDA hardiness zone 4b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Well-matched crops include cabbage, cranberry, turkish rocket, and collard greens, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Rogers — the short answer

Rogers, Minnesota: USDA zone 4b, about 188 days between hard freezes, across 16K acres of city.

USDA zone
4b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 16
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 21
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~188
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
16K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

4b4b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 4b is Rogers's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Rogers's 188-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Rogers

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

Season length

Measured

Rogers runs about 188 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Rogers sits in USDA hardiness zone 4b.

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 Rogers is in

Rogers sits in the North Central Hardwood Forests — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Rogers's own centroid rather than borrowed from Hennepin County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Rogers

Every plant below cleared Rogers's own zone 4b and its 188-day season. Each card opens that plant's Minnesota profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in MinnesotaZones 2–11Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Minnesota cranberry guideZones 2–7Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket in MinnesotaRogers's 188 days clear the ~90 it needs.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Minnesota growing notesZones 2–11Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Growing blueberry in MinnesotaZones 3–8Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
calendula, photograph
Minnesota calendula guideZones 2–11Rogers's 188 days clear the ~120 it needs.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in MinnesotaZones 2–10Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut: Minnesota growing notesZones 4–9Rogers's 4b is its exact cold limit.
cilantro, photograph
Growing cilantro in MinnesotaZones 2–11Rogers's 188 days clear the ~35 it needs.
kale, photograph
Minnesota kale guideZones 2–11Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
apple, photograph
Apple in MinnesotaZones 3–8Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Minnesota growing notesZones 2–11Rogers's 188 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in MinnesotaZones 2–12Rogers's 188 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Minnesota potato guideZones 2–11Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
rhubarb, photograph
Rhubarb in MinnesotaZones 2–8Rogers's 188 days clear the ~60 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Minnesota growing notesZones 3–8Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in MinnesotaZones 2–11Rogers's 188 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Minnesota azalea guideZones 4–8Rogers's 4b is its exact cold limit.
hops, photograph
Hops in MinnesotaZones 3–8Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Minnesota growing notesZones 3–10Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in MinnesotaRogers's 188 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Minnesota lilac guideZones 4–10Rogers's 4b is its exact cold limit.
riverbank grape, photograph
Riverbank grape in MinnesotaZones 2–8Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Siberian squill, photograph
Siberian squill: Minnesota growing notesZones 2–8Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Growing blue spruce in MinnesotaZones 2–8Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Minnesota alfalfa guideZones 2–10Rogers's 188 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in MinnesotaZones 2–7Rogers's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
American elm: Minnesota growing notesZones 3–9Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
field pea, photograph
Growing field pea in MinnesotaZones 2–10Rogers's 188 days clear the ~60 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Minnesota canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Rogers's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Rogers?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 19; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 16 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 21 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. As the window narrows, the plantings just get faster — fall brassicas, then greens, then garlic to finish.

What's on the federal record near Rogers

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

  1. RogersPFAS · 0.6 mi
  2. 421135Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  3. QUALITY WELDINGBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  4. ADO PRODUCTSBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  5. TUCKS GARAGE INCBrownfields · 0.9 mi
  6. ISD 728 ROGERS ELEMENTARY SCHBrownfields · 0.9 mi
  7. ROGERS NODEBrownfields · 0.9 mi
  8. Century LinkUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  9. KURTH AUTO REPAIRBrownfields · 0.9 mi
  10. GROEBNER & ASSOCIATES INCBrownfields · 1.0 mi
  11. LLOYD'S CYLINDER HEAD REPAIRBrownfields · 1.0 mi
  12. PETERBILT NORTH - ROGERSBrownfields · 1.0 mi

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

Measured from Rogers'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 Rogers.

Total Sites

2,003

within ~10 miles of Rogers

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

52 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Rogers

High7Moderate359Low1,637

Highest-Severity Sites

Maple Grove
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Medina
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Rockford
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Rogers
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
058 120n23w23dbb 01 Rogers 1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Rogers, Brownfields runs higher than the national average — 1,430 sites within ~10 miles of Rogers. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Rogers

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 Rogers average

Your land is one point inside Rogers

Everything above resolves to Rogers as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 16K acres. 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 Rogers Average

Rogers Average

  • USDA Zones 4b, averaged across Rogers
  • One soil character for all of Rogers
  • Frost dates read at Rogers's scale: Apr 16 to Oct 21

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Rogers's 4b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Rogers

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Rogers averages 188Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Rogers

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 Rogers’s own record; 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 Rogers

When does frost risk typically end in Rogers?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Rogers typically lands around Apr 16, 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 May 7.

When is the first frost in Rogers?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Rogers typically arrives around Oct 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 7, so the watching starts about Sep 21 — about 188 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Rogers?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Rogers sees about 188 frost-free days — roughly Apr 16 through Oct 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 7 to Oct 7, about 153 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Rogers?

The federal record around Rogers is a meaningful one — 2,003 documented sites, mostly Brownfields entries (1,430), the nearest PFAS record about 0.6 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 Rogers?

From about Sep 21 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 Oct 21 (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 Oct 21. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Rogers's scale — its 4b band and its 188-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Rogers'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 Rogers’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Rogers's own scale — its own ~188-day season between 28°F freezes, the 16,262 acres it covers and 2,003 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Rogers's own USDA hardiness band, zones 4bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Rogers's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 16 and Oct 21 and the ~188-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 2,003 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Rogers, the closest PFAS record about 0.6 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Rogers's boundary and the 16,262 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 4b and a ~188-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Rogers's own centroid, the North Central Hardwood ForestsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Rogers's 16,262 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Hennepin County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Hennepin County
  • The growing challenges every Minnesota grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Minnesota
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Hennepin County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Rogers's 16,262 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Rogers you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 16,262 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest PFAS record about 0.6 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 Rogers-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address