What Grows in Dripping Springs, Oklahoma

USDA Zones 7a · 886 acres

Dripping Springs, Oklahoma, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Growers here do well with cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Dripping Springs — the short answer

Dripping Springs, Oklahoma: USDA zone 7a, about 231 days between hard freezes, across 886 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 24
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 10
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~231
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
886 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)
Your USDA zone 7aSee the zone map →

Zone 7a is Dripping Springs's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Dripping Springs's 231-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Dripping Springs

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

Season length

Measured

Dripping Springs runs about 231 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.

Making the most of a long season

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Dripping Springs 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.

How hardiness zones work

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Dripping Springs is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Dripping Springs

Every plant below cleared Dripping Springs's own zone 7a and its 231-day season. Each card opens that plant's Oklahoma profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OklahomaZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Oklahoma hazelnut guideZones 4–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in OklahomaZones 6–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Oklahoma growing notesZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in OklahomaZones 5–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Oklahoma lavender guideZones 5–8Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OklahomaZones 2–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Oklahoma growing notesZones 5–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in OklahomaDripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Oklahoma kale guideZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in OklahomaZones 5–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Oklahoma growing notesZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in OklahomaZones 3–8Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Oklahoma okra guideZones 2–12Dripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OklahomaZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Oklahoma growing notesZones 3–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OklahomaZones 2–11Dripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Oklahoma apache plume guideZones 5–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OklahomaZones 3–8Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Oklahoma growing notesZones 3–8Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OklahomaDripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Oklahoma holly guideZones 5–11Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in OklahomaZones 3–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Oklahoma growing notesZones 6–8Dripping Springs's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OklahomaZones 3–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Oklahoma ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OklahomaZones 2–7Dripping Springs's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Oklahoma growing notesZones 4–10Dripping Springs's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in OklahomaZones 5–10Dripping Springs's 231 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
Oklahoma eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Dripping Springs's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Dripping Springs?

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 Feb 24; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 24 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 10 — 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 Dripping Springs

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

  1. TwistersUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.7 mi
  2. OK-DE-19Nitrate · 3.2 mi
  3. Flint Ridge Dev. Co.Underground Storage Tanks · 4.4 mi
  4. OK-DE-15Nitrate · 4.6 mi
  5. FAIN'S FARMSCAFO · 4.7 mi
  6. OK-DE-31Nitrate · 5.6 mi
  7. FAMILY DOLLAR # 8402Brownfields · 5.8 mi
  8. T-N-T Quik ShopUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.8 mi
  9. Speedy'sUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.8 mi
  10. Circle NUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.9 mi
  11. Dennis BowmanUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.9 mi
  12. Cookson Hills Christian SchoolUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.9 mi

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

Measured from Dripping Springs'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 Dripping Springs.

Total Sites

120

within ~10 miles of Dripping Springs

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

15 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Explore the live map
Underground Storage Tanks72Brownfields21Toxics Release Inventory15Nitrate8CAFO4

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of Dripping Springs

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Dripping Springs

High0Moderate53Low67

Highest-Severity Sites

Circle N
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Colcord Schools
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
G & D One Stop
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Kansas Public Schools
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Love'S #658
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Dripping Springs, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Dripping Springs — CAFO (4 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (15 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

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

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

grow under coverwork your in-ground beds wiselyread your soil before you plantSee what's flagged near Dripping Springs
Explore the contamination map around Dripping Springs·Oklahoma Growing Guide
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Dripping Springs

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 Dripping Springs average

Your land is one point inside Dripping Springs

Everything above resolves to Dripping Springs as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 886 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 Dripping Springs Average

Dripping Springs Average

  • ●USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Dripping Springs
  • ●One soil character for all of Dripping Springs
  • ●Frost dates read at Dripping Springs's scale: Mar 24 to Nov 10

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Dripping Springs

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Dripping Springs averages 231Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Dripping Springs

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 Dripping Springs’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 Dripping Springs

When does frost risk typically end in Dripping Springs?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Dripping Springs typically lands around Mar 24, 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 14.

When is the first frost in Dripping Springs?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Dripping Springs typically arrives around Nov 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 27, so the watching starts about Oct 11 — about 231 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Dripping Springs?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Dripping Springs sees about 231 frost-free days — roughly Mar 24 through Nov 10, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 14 to Oct 27, about 196 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Dripping Springs?

The federal record around Dripping Springs shows 120 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (72), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.7 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 Dripping Springs?

From about Oct 11 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 10 (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 10. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Dripping Springs's scale — its 7a band and its 231-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Dripping Springs'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 Dripping Springs’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Dripping Springs's own scale — its own ~231-day season between 28°F freezes, the 886 acres it covers and 120 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Dripping Springs's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Dripping Springs's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 24 and Nov 10 and the ~231-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 120 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Dripping Springs, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.7 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Dripping Springs's boundary and the 886 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~231-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Dripping Springs's own centroid, the Ozark HighlandsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Dripping Springs's 886 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Delaware County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Delaware County
  • The growing challenges every Oklahoma grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Oklahoma
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Delaware County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Dripping Springs's 886 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of Dripping Springs you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 886 acresreading your own microclimate →
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.7 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 Dripping Springs-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in Oklahoma

Delaware County Growing Guide·Oklahoma Growing Guide
USDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•US Census TIGER•PRISM Climate•EPA FRS