What Grows in Hanover, New Mexico

USDA Zones 7b · 894 acres

Hanover, New Mexico, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

The conditions favor cabbage, prickly pear, california poppy, and collard greens, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Hanover — the short answer

Hanover, New Mexico: USDA zone 7b, about 207 days between hard freezes, across 894 acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 15
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 8
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~207
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
894 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 Hanover's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hanover's 207-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hanover

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

Season length

Measured

Hanover runs about 207 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

Hanover 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 Hanover is in

Hanover sits in the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Temperate Sierras. That is read at Hanover's own centroid rather than borrowed from Grant County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hanover

Every plant below cleared Hanover's own zone 7b and its 207-day season. Each card opens that plant's New Mexico profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in New MexicoZones 2–11Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
New Mexico prickly pear guideZones 5–10Hanover's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in New MexicoZones 6–10Hanover's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: New Mexico growing notesZones 2–11Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Growing fig in New MexicoZones 6–10Hanover's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
New Mexico lavender guideZones 5–8Hanover's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in New MexicoZones 2–10Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: New Mexico growing notesZones 6–9Hanover's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in New MexicoHanover's 207 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
New Mexico kale guideZones 2–11Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in New MexicoZones 4–9Hanover's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: New Mexico growing notesZones 2–11Hanover's 207 days clear the ~70 it needs.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in New MexicoZones 5–9Hanover's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
New Mexico okra guideZones 2–12Hanover's 207 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in New MexicoZones 2–11Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: New Mexico growing notesZones 3–10Hanover's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in New MexicoZones 2–11Hanover's 207 days clear the ~70 it needs.
holly, photograph
New Mexico holly guideZones 5–11Hanover's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in New MexicoZones 3–8Hanover's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: New Mexico growing notesZones 3–8Hanover's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in New MexicoHanover's 207 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
New Mexico lilac guideZones 4–10Hanover's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in New MexicoZones 3–9Hanover's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: New Mexico growing notesZones 6–8Hanover's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in New MexicoZones 4–10Hanover's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
New Mexico ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Hanover's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in New MexicoZones 2–7Hanover's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
western red cedar, photograph
Western red cedar: New Mexico growing notesZones 4–10Hanover's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in New MexicoZones 5–10Hanover's 207 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
New Mexico ajuga guideZones 5–11Hanover's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hanover?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 18; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 8 — 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 Hanover

Survey cells within 31 miles of Hanover checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 527 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Hanover

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

  1. SHARON STEEL CORP - BUnderground Storage Tanks · 400 ft
  2. Empire Zinc MineMining · 950 ft
  3. Mason TunnelMining · 1500 ft
  4. Cupola MineMining · 1900 ft
  5. Republic MineMining · 1900 ft
  6. HANOVER HANDY MART 259Underground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  7. 17S.12W.21.24142CNitrate · 2200 ft
  8. Oswaldo No. 1Mining · 2500 ft
  9. Oswaldo MineMining · 2600 ft
  10. Thundercloud MineMining · 0.6 mi
  11. 17S.12W.20.24432Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  12. Strike TunnelMining · 0.6 mi

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

Measured from Hanover'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 Hanover.

Total Sites

263

within ~10 miles of Hanover

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hanover

High95Moderate113Low55

Highest-Severity Sites

Alaska Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Arizona Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Arizona Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Ben Hur Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Betty Jo Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hanover, Mining runs higher than the national average — 163 sites within ~10 miles of Hanover. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Hanover

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 Hanover average

Your land is one point inside Hanover

Everything above resolves to Hanover as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 894 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 Hanover Average

Hanover Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Hanover
  • One soil character for all of Hanover
  • Frost dates read at Hanover's scale: Apr 15 to Nov 8

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hanover

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hanover averages 207Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Hanover

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 Hanover’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 Hanover

When does frost risk typically end in Hanover?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hanover typically lands around Apr 15, 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 6.

When is the first frost in Hanover?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hanover typically arrives around Nov 8, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 25, so the watching starts about Oct 9 — about 207 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hanover?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hanover sees about 207 frost-free days — roughly Apr 15 through Nov 8, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 6 to Oct 25, about 172 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hanover?

The federal record around Hanover runs heavier than most — 263 documented sites, mostly Mining entries (163), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Hanover?

From about Oct 9 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 8 (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 8. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Hanover's scale — its 7b band and its 207-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hanover'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 Hanover’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Hanover's own scale — its own ~207-day season between 28°F freezes, the 894 acres it covers and 263 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hanover's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Hanover's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 15 and Nov 8 and the ~207-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 263 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hanover, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hanover's boundary and the 894 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7b and a ~207-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Hanover's own centroid, the Arizona/New Mexico MountainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Hanover 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 Hanover's 894 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Grant County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Grant County
  • The growing challenges every New Mexico grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom New Mexico
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Grant County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hanover's 894 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Hanover you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 894 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Hanover-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in New Mexico

Wider growing context

What grows across New Mexico

Hanover sits outside our named growing regions, so New Mexico as a whole is its closest context here.