What Grows in Anna, Ohio

USDA Zones 6a · 709 acres

Anna, Ohio, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Anna — the short answer

Anna, Ohio: USDA zone 6a, about 200 days between hard freezes, across 709 acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 12
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 29
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~200
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
709 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

6a6a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6a is Anna's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Anna's 200-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Anna

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

Season length

Measured

Anna runs about 200 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

Anna sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a.

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 Anna is in

Anna sits in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Anna's own centroid rather than borrowed from Shelby County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Anna

Every plant below cleared Anna's own zone 6a and its 200-day season. Each card opens that plant's Ohio profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OhioZones 2–11Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Ohio hazelnut guideZones 4–9Anna's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in OhioZones 5–8Anna's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Ohio growing notesZones 2–11Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Growing blueberry in OhioZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Ohio california poppy guideZones 6–10Anna's 6a is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OhioZones 2–10Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry: Ohio growing notesZones 5–8Anna's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in OhioZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Ohio kale guideZones 2–11Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Cranberry in OhioZones 2–7Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Ohio growing notesAnna's 200 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in OhioZones 2–11Anna's 200 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Ohio okra guideZones 2–12Anna's 200 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OhioZones 2–11Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Ohio growing notesZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OhioZones 2–11Anna's 200 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Ohio azalea guideZones 4–8Anna's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OhioZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Ohio growing notesZones 3–10Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OhioAnna's 200 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Ohio lilac guideZones 4–10Anna's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in OhioZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Ohio growing notesZones 6–8Anna's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OhioZones 3–9Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Ohio ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Anna's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OhioZones 2–7Anna's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Ohio growing notesZones 4–10Anna's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in OhioZones 2–10Anna's 200 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Ohio canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Anna's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Anna?

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 15; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 12 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 29 — 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 Anna

Survey cells within 31 miles of Anna checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 37 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Anna

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

  1. FAMILY DOLLAR #11234Brownfields · 2200 ft
  2. SHELLUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  3. SPEEDWAY #8012Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  4. SPEEDWAY 8012Brownfields · 0.6 mi
  5. ANNA TRUCKSTOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  6. ANNA SUNOCOBrownfields · 1.2 mi
  7. MCCARTYVILLE CUSTOM BODY SHOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  8. JOE'S STOP 99Underground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  9. HONDA DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING OF AMERICA *Toxics Release Inventory · 1.7 mi
  10. HONDA DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING OF AMERICA *Brownfields · 1.7 mi
  11. HONDA - ANNA ENGINE PLANTPFAS · 1.9 mi
  12. HONDA ENGINE PLANTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.0 mi

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

Measured from Anna'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 Anna.

Total Sites

251

within ~10 miles of Anna

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

4 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Anna

High1Moderate87Low163

Highest-Severity Sites

Honda - Anna Engine Plant
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Advanced Composites INC.
Toxics Release Inventory · 4536wdvncd162s4
Airstream Div of Beatrice Foods
Toxics Release Inventory · 45334rstrm419wp
Alcoa Home Exteriors INC Tr&D
Toxics Release Inventory · 45365stllc2640c
Alcoa Memory Products INC
Toxics Release Inventory · 45365thstl2615c

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Anna, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Anna — Toxics Release Inventory (48 sites) and Superfund (4 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

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 Anna

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 Anna average

Your land is one point inside Anna

Everything above resolves to Anna as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 709 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 Anna Average

Anna Average

  • USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Anna
  • One soil character for all of Anna
  • Frost dates read at Anna's scale: Apr 12 to Oct 29

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Anna

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Anna averages 200Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Anna

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 Anna’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 Anna

When does frost risk typically end in Anna?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Anna typically lands around Apr 12, 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 3.

When is the first frost in Anna?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Anna typically arrives around Oct 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 15, so the watching starts about Sep 29 — about 200 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Anna?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Anna sees about 200 frost-free days — roughly Apr 12 through Oct 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 3 to Oct 15, about 165 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Anna?

The federal record around Anna is a meaningful one — 251 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (104), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.4 miles out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Anna?

From about Sep 29 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 Oct 29 (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 Oct 29. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Anna's scale — its 6a band and its 200-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Anna'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 Anna’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Anna's own scale — its own ~200-day season between 28°F freezes, the 709 acres it covers and 251 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Anna's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Anna's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 12 and Oct 29 and the ~200-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 251 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Anna, the closest Brownfields record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Anna's boundary and the 709 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~200-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Anna's own centroid, the Eastern Corn Belt PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Anna 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 Anna's 709 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Shelby County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Shelby County
  • The growing challenges every Ohio grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Ohio
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Shelby County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Anna's 709 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Anna you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 709 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields 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 Anna-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Ohio

Wider growing context

What grows across Ohio

Anna sits outside our named growing regions, so Ohio as a whole is its closest context here.