What Grows in Normandy, Missouri

USDA Zones 7a · 1K acres

Normandy, Missouri, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Expect cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Normandy — the short answer

Normandy, Missouri: USDA zone 7a, about 247 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of city.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 18
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 20
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~247
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
1K 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 Normandy's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Normandy's 247-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Normandy

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

Season length

Measured

Normandy runs about 247 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

Normandy 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 Normandy is in

Normandy sits in the Interior River Valleys and Hills — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Normandy's own centroid rather than borrowed from St. Louis County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Normandy

Every plant below cleared Normandy's own zone 7a and its 247-day season. Each card opens that plant's Missouri profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in MissouriZones 2–11Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Missouri hazelnut guideZones 4–9Normandy's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in MissouriZones 6–10Normandy's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Missouri growing notesZones 2–11Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in MissouriZones 5–9Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Missouri lavender guideZones 5–8Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in MissouriZones 2–10Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Missouri growing notesZones 5–9Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Roman chamomile, photograph
Growing roman chamomile in MissouriZones 3–9Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Missouri kale guideZones 2–11Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in MissouriZones 5–10Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Missouri growing notesZones 2–11Normandy's 247 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in MissouriZones 3–8Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Missouri okra guideZones 2–12Normandy's 247 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in MissouriZones 2–11Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Missouri growing notesZones 3–10Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in MissouriZones 2–11Normandy's 247 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Missouri apache plume guideZones 5–11Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in MissouriZones 3–8Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Missouri growing notesZones 3–8Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in MissouriNormandy's 247 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Missouri holly guideZones 5–11Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in MissouriZones 3–9Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Missouri growing notesZones 6–8Normandy's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in MissouriZones 3–9Normandy's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Missouri ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Normandy's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in MissouriZones 2–7Normandy's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Missouri growing notesZones 4–10Normandy's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in MissouriZones 5–10Normandy's 247 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
Missouri eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Normandy's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Normandy?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 18; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 20 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.

Documented around Normandy

Survey cells within 31 miles of Normandy checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 238 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Normandy

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

  1. FSIS MIDWESTERN LABBrownfields · 550 ft
  2. ABVAC INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  3. NORMANDY MOTORSUnderground Storage Tanks · 600 ft
  4. FLEETWING CONSTRUCTION LLCBrownfields · 1100 ft
  5. UNITED MART BPUnderground Storage Tanks · 1300 ft
  6. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ST LOUIS SOUTH CAMPUSUnderground Storage Tanks · 1500 ft
  7. NORMANDY HOSPITAL (FORMER)Underground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  8. A-1 EXPRESS RADIATORUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  9. NORMANDY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  10. SHELL STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  11. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI - ST LOUISUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  12. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ST LOUISBrownfields · 0.6 mi

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

Measured from Normandy'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 Normandy.

Total Sites

4,391

within ~10 miles of Normandy

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

61 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Normandy

High8Moderate954Low3,429

Highest-Severity Sites

Mo American St Louis St Charles Counties
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Air Force (Ex) Plant # 84
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
Chevron Chemical CO - Maryland Heights
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
Chicago Heights Blvd VOC Plume
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Normandy, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Normandy — Toxics Release Inventory (349 sites) and Superfund (61 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.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

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

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Normandy

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 Normandy average

Your land is one point inside Normandy

Everything above resolves to Normandy as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 1K 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 Normandy Average

Normandy Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Normandy
  • One soil character for all of Normandy
  • Frost dates read at Normandy's scale: Mar 18 to Nov 20

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Normandy

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Normandy averages 247Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Normandy

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 Normandy’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 Normandy

When does frost risk typically end in Normandy?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Normandy typically lands around Mar 18, 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 8.

When is the first frost in Normandy?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Normandy typically arrives around Nov 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 6, so the watching starts about Oct 21 — about 247 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Normandy?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Normandy sees about 247 frost-free days — roughly Mar 18 through Nov 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 8 to Nov 6, about 212 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Normandy?

The federal record around Normandy runs heavier than most — 4,391 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (2,678), the nearest Brownfields 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 Normandy?

From about Oct 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 Nov 20 (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 20. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Normandy's scale — its 7a band and its 247-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Normandy'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 Normandy’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Normandy's own scale — its own ~247-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,186 acres it covers and 4,391 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Normandy's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Normandy's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 18 and Nov 20 and the ~247-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 4,391 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Normandy, the closest Brownfields record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Normandy's boundary and the 1,186 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~247-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Normandy's own centroid, the Interior River Valleys and HillsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Normandy 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 Normandy's 1,186 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom St. Louis County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom St. Louis 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 St. Louis County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Normandy's 1,186 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Normandy you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,186 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields 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 Normandy-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address