What Grows in Linn, Missouri

USDA Zones 6b · 746 acres

Linn, Missouri, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

These conditions suit cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, 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 Linn, 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 Linn 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 Linn — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Linn — the short answer

Linn, Missouri: USDA zone 6b, about 221 days between hard freezes, across 746 acres of city.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 30
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 6
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~221
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
746 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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Linn's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Linn's 221-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Linn

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

Season length

Measured

Linn runs about 221 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

Linn sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

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 Linn is in

Linn sits in the Ozark Highlands — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Linn's own centroid rather than borrowed from Osage County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Linn

Every plant below cleared Linn's own zone 6b and its 221-day season. Each card opens that plant's Missouri profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in MissouriZones 2–11Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Missouri hazelnut guideZones 4–9Linn's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in MissouriZones 5–8Linn's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Missouri growing notesZones 2–11Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in MissouriZones 5–8Linn's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Missouri california poppy guideZones 6–10Linn's 6b is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in MissouriZones 2–10Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: Missouri growing notesZones 3–8Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in MissouriLinn's 221 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Missouri kale guideZones 2–11Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in MissouriZones 5–9Linn's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: Missouri growing notesZones 4–9Linn's 221 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in MissouriZones 2–11Linn's 221 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Missouri okra guideZones 2–12Linn's 221 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in MissouriZones 2–11Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Missouri growing notesZones 3–10Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in MissouriZones 2–11Linn's 221 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Missouri lilac guideZones 4–10Linn's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in MissouriZones 3–8Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Missouri growing notesZones 3–8Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in MissouriLinn's 221 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Missouri apache plume guideZones 5–11Linn's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in MissouriZones 3–9Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Missouri growing notesZones 6–8Linn's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in MissouriZones 3–9Linn's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Missouri ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Linn's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in MissouriZones 2–7Linn's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Missouri growing notesZones 4–10Linn's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in MissouriZones 2–10Linn's 221 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
Missouri indian grass guideZones 4–9Linn's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Linn?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 2; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 30 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 6 — 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.

Documented around Linn

Survey cells within 31 miles of Linn checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 299 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Linn

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

  1. KEHOE BUILDINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 900 ft
  2. CITY OF LINN MAINTENANCE SHEDUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  3. LINN-RED HORSE MOBILUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  4. BOES TIRE SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  5. ROGER & BOB VOSS (VOSS & SONS LBR.)Underground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  6. LINN DISTRICT SERVICE CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft
  7. T43N R08W 17DBB1Nitrate · 2000 ft
  8. RUDROFF BUS COUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  9. LINN MAINT BLDGUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  10. CASEYS GENERAL STORE #2451Underground Storage Tanks · 2600 ft
  11. WALGREENS #15826Brownfields · 0.6 mi
  12. BREAKTIME #3119Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi

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

Measured from Linn'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 Linn.

Total Sites

54

within ~10 miles of Linn

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

4 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Linn

High0Moderate22Low32

Highest-Severity Sites

Bonnots Mill Oil CO
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Breaktime #3119
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Caseys General Store #2451
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Elsevier Linn
Toxics Release Inventory · 65051lsvrl1799h
H & a Manufacturing CO
Toxics Release Inventory · 65051hmnfc209we

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Linn, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Linn — Toxics Release Inventory (4 sites) and Nitrate (14 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.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

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

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

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Check your specific parcel in Linn

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 Linn average

Your land is one point inside Linn

Everything above resolves to Linn as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 746 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 Linn Average

Linn Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Linn
  • One soil character for all of Linn
  • Frost dates read at Linn's scale: Mar 30 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Linn's 6b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Linn

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Linn averages 221Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Linn

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 Linn’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 Linn

When does frost risk typically end in Linn?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Linn typically lands around Mar 30, 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 20.

When is the first frost in Linn?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Linn typically arrives around Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 23, so the watching starts about Oct 7 — about 221 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Linn?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Linn sees about 221 frost-free days — roughly Mar 30 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 20 to Oct 23, about 186 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Linn?

The federal record around Linn shows 54 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (28), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Linn?

From about Oct 7 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 6 (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 6. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Linn's scale — its 6b band and its 221-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Linn'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 Linn’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Linn's own scale — its own ~221-day season between 28°F freezes, the 746 acres it covers and 54 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Linn's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Linn's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 30 and Nov 6 and the ~221-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 54 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Linn, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Linn's boundary and the 746 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~221-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Linn's own centroid, the Ozark HighlandsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Linn 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 Linn's 746 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Osage County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Osage County
  • The growing challenges every Missouri grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Missouri
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Osage County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Linn's 746 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Linn you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 746 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks 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 Linn-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address