What Grows in Monett, Missouri

USDA Zones 7a · 6K acres

Monett, Missouri, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

Among the crops suited to this profile: cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Monett — the short answer

Monett, Missouri: USDA zone 7a, about 222 days between hard freezes, across 6K acres of city.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 29
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
~222
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
6K 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

7a7a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7a is Monett's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Monett's 222-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Monett

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

Season length

Measured

Monett runs about 222 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

Monett sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a.

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 Monett is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Monett

Every plant below cleared Monett's own zone 7a and its 222-day season. Each card opens that plant's Missouri profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in MissouriZones 2–11Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Missouri hazelnut guideZones 4–9Monett's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in MissouriZones 6–10Monett's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Missouri growing notesZones 2–11Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in MissouriZones 5–9Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Missouri lavender guideZones 5–8Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in MissouriZones 2–10Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Missouri growing notesZones 5–9Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in MissouriMonett's 222 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Missouri kale guideZones 2–11Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in MissouriZones 5–10Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Missouri growing notesZones 2–11Monett's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in MissouriZones 3–8Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Missouri okra guideZones 2–12Monett's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in MissouriZones 2–11Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Missouri growing notesZones 3–10Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in MissouriZones 2–11Monett's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Missouri apache plume guideZones 5–11Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in MissouriZones 3–8Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Missouri growing notesZones 3–8Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in MissouriMonett's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Missouri holly guideZones 5–11Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in MissouriZones 3–9Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Missouri growing notesZones 6–8Monett's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in MissouriZones 3–9Monett's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Missouri ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Monett's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in MissouriZones 2–7Monett's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Missouri growing notesZones 4–10Monett's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in MissouriZones 5–10Monett's 222 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
Missouri eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Monett's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Monett?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 1; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 29 (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. There is slack in a calendar like this — late plantings, second rounds of favorites, and a fall bench that keeps beds working.

What's on the federal record near Monett

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

  1. FAST GAS #2Underground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  2. BROADWAY 66 SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  3. T26N R27W 31ACC01Nitrate · 700 ft
  4. D & C SERVICE CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  5. DAVIS TRUE VALUE HARDWAREUnderground Storage Tanks · 850 ft
  6. DOUBLE M FARMERS CO-OPUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  7. T26N R27W 31ACC1Nitrate · 1000 ft
  8. T26N R27W 31BAD1Nitrate · 1700 ft
  9. MONETT MUNICIPAL PARKING LOTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1800 ft
  10. SCHREIBER FOODS INCBrownfields · 1800 ft
  11. SCHREIBER FOODS INCToxics Release Inventory · 1800 ft
  12. DAIRY FARMERS OF AMERICA INC-MONETTToxics Release Inventory · 1900 ft

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

Measured from Monett'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 Monett.

Total Sites

313

within ~10 miles of Monett

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

4 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Monett

High81Moderate132Low100

Highest-Severity Sites

Allen & Stark Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Henderson Mines
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Kelley & Anderson Mines
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Monett Pws
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Monett
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Monett, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Monett — CAFO (32 sites) and Mining (89 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

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

Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.

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

Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Monett

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 Monett average

Your land is one point inside Monett

Everything above resolves to Monett as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 6K 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 Monett Average

Monett Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Monett
  • One soil character for all of Monett
  • Frost dates read at Monett's scale: Mar 29 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Monett

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Monett averages 222Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Monett

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 Monett’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 Monett

When does frost risk typically end in Monett?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Monett typically lands around Mar 29, 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 19.

When is the first frost in Monett?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Monett 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 222 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Monett?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Monett sees about 222 frost-free days — roughly Mar 29 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 19 to Oct 23, about 187 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Monett?

The federal record around Monett runs heavier than most — 313 documented sites, mostly Mining entries (89), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Monett?

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 Monett's scale — its 7a band and its 222-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Monett'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 Monett’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Monett's own scale — its own ~222-day season between 28°F freezes, the 5,624 acres it covers and 313 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Monett's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Monett's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 29 and Nov 6 and the ~222-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 313 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Monett, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Monett's boundary and the 5,624 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~222-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Monett's own centroid, the Ozark HighlandsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Monett's 5,624 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Barry County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Barry 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 Barry County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Monett's 5,624 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Monett you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 5,624 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 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 Monett-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address