What Grows in Victoria, Mississippi

USDA Zones 7b · 5K acres

Victoria, Mississippi, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

These conditions suit cabbage, prickly pear, california poppy, and collard greens — a starting list any specific site will trim or extend with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Victoria — the short answer

Victoria, Mississippi: USDA zone 7b, about 239 days between hard freezes, across 5K acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 16
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 10
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~239
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
5K 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

7b7b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7b is Victoria's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Victoria's 239-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Victoria

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

Season length

Measured

Victoria runs about 239 days between hard freezes — a long growing season.

There is slack for succession plantings and slow-finishing crops: many vegetables can be sown twice, and the heat-lovers have time to ripen fully.

Plan a second sowing of quick crops after the first comes out, and use the fall window most gardeners let sit idle.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Victoria sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b.

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 Victoria is in

Victoria sits in the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Victoria's own centroid rather than borrowed from Marshall County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Victoria

Every plant below cleared Victoria's own zone 7b and its 239-day season. Each card opens that plant's Mississippi profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in MississippiZones 2–11Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Mississippi prickly pear guideZones 5–10Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in MississippiZones 6–10Victoria's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Mississippi growing notesZones 2–11Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Growing fig in MississippiZones 6–10Victoria's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Mississippi lavender guideZones 5–8Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in MississippiZones 2–10Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: Mississippi growing notesZones 6–9Victoria's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in MississippiVictoria's 239 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Mississippi kale guideZones 2–11Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in MississippiZones 4–9Victoria's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Mississippi growing notesZones 2–11Victoria's 239 days clear the ~70 it needs.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in MississippiZones 5–9Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Mississippi okra guideZones 2–12Victoria's 239 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in MississippiZones 2–11Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Mississippi growing notesZones 3–10Victoria's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in MississippiZones 2–11Victoria's 239 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Mississippi apache plume guideZones 5–11Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in MississippiZones 3–8Victoria's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Mississippi growing notesZones 3–8Victoria's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in MississippiVictoria's 239 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Mississippi holly guideZones 5–11Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in MississippiZones 3–9Victoria's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Mississippi growing notesZones 6–8Victoria's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in MississippiZones 4–10Victoria's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Mississippi ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Victoria's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in MississippiZones 2–7Victoria's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Mississippi growing notesZones 5–11Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in MississippiZones 5–10Victoria's 239 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Mississippi ajuga guideZones 5–11Victoria's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Victoria?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 16; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 16 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 10 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. There is slack in a calendar like this — late plantings, second rounds of favorites, and a fall bench that keeps beds working.

Documented around Victoria

Survey cells within 31 miles of Victoria checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 176 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Victoria

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

  1. Watkins GroceryUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  2. Five Star MarketUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  3. M & M GroceryUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.8 mi
  4. Bibleway Outreach MinistriesUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.9 mi
  5. GRIFFIN INCBrownfields · 1.9 mi
  6. H & R GroceryUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  7. CARGILL ANIMAL NUTRITION, NEW FEED MILLToxics Release Inventory · 2.8 mi
  8. Jo Jo's Travel CenterUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.9 mi
  9. 093K0001 MARSHALLNitrate · 3.0 mi
  10. Deberrys GroceryUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.0 mi
  11. Southern BrickUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.1 mi
  12. 093J0326 MARSHALLNitrate · 3.2 mi

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

Measured from Victoria'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 Victoria.

Total Sites

86

within ~10 miles of Victoria

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

7 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Victoria

High1Moderate30Low55

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Holly Springs
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
093d0005 Marshall
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
093d0005 Marshall
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
093d0060 Marshall
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
093d0060 Marshall
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Victoria, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Victoria — Toxics Release Inventory (7 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (54 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.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Victoria

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 Victoria average

Your land is one point inside Victoria

Everything above resolves to Victoria as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 5K 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 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 Victoria Average

Victoria Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Victoria
  • One soil character for all of Victoria
  • Frost dates read at Victoria's scale: Mar 16 to Nov 10

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Victoria's 7b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Victoria

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Victoria averages 239Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Victoria

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 Victoria’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 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 Victoria

When does frost risk typically end in Victoria?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Victoria typically lands around Mar 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 Apr 6.

When is the first frost in Victoria?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Victoria typically arrives around Nov 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 27, so the watching starts about Oct 11 — about 239 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Victoria?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Victoria sees about 239 frost-free days — roughly Mar 16 through Nov 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 6 to Oct 27, about 204 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Victoria?

The federal record around Victoria shows 86 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (54), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Victoria?

From about Oct 11 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 Nov 10 (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 Nov 10. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Victoria's scale — its 7b band and its 239-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Victoria'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 Victoria’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Victoria's own scale — its own ~239-day season between 28°F freezes, the 4,708 acres it covers and 86 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Victoria's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Victoria's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 16 and Nov 10 and the ~239-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 86 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Victoria, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Victoria's boundary and the 4,708 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7b and a ~239-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Victoria's own centroid, the Mississippi Valley Loess PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Victoria checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Victoria's 4,708 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Marshall County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Marshall County
  • The growing challenges every Mississippi grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Mississippi
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Marshall County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Victoria's 4,708 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Victoria you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 4,708 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 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 Victoria-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address