What Grows in Perry, Oklahoma

USDA Zones 7a · 4K acres

Perry, Oklahoma, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Reliable performers under these conditions include cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Perry — the short answer

Perry, Oklahoma: USDA zone 7a, about 230 days between hard freezes, across 4K acres of city.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 26
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 11
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~230
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
4K 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 Perry's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Perry's 230-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Perry

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

Season length

Measured

Perry runs about 230 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

Perry 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 Perry is in

Perry sits in the Central Great Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Perry's own centroid rather than borrowed from Noble County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Perry

Every plant below cleared Perry's own zone 7a and its 230-day season. Each card opens that plant's Oklahoma profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OklahomaZones 2–11Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Oklahoma hazelnut guideZones 4–9Perry's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in OklahomaZones 6–10Perry's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Oklahoma growing notesZones 2–11Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in OklahomaZones 5–9Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Oklahoma lavender guideZones 5–8Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OklahomaZones 2–10Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Oklahoma growing notesZones 5–9Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in OklahomaPerry's 230 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Oklahoma kale guideZones 2–11Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in OklahomaZones 5–10Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Oklahoma growing notesZones 2–11Perry's 230 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in OklahomaZones 3–8Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Oklahoma okra guideZones 2–12Perry's 230 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OklahomaZones 2–11Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Oklahoma growing notesZones 3–10Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OklahomaZones 2–11Perry's 230 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Oklahoma apache plume guideZones 5–11Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OklahomaZones 3–8Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Oklahoma growing notesZones 3–8Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OklahomaPerry's 230 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Oklahoma holly guideZones 5–11Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in OklahomaZones 3–9Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Oklahoma growing notesZones 6–8Perry's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OklahomaZones 3–9Perry's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Oklahoma ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Perry's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OklahomaZones 2–7Perry's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Oklahoma growing notesZones 4–10Perry's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in OklahomaZones 5–10Perry's 230 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
Oklahoma eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Perry's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Perry?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 26; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 26 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 11 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.

What's on the federal record near Perry

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

  1. CHARLES MACHINE WORKS INC THE PLANT #3Brownfields · 2200 ft
  2. Cbt Spt Co (-) 1/179 InfUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  3. PERRY WATER & LIGHT DEPARTMENT (OK1021206)Brownfields · 0.7 mi
  4. NORTHERN OKLAHOMA METALSToxics Release Inventory · 0.7 mi
  5. Charles Machine Works, Inc.Underground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  6. PHYSICIANS MEDICAL CLINICBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  7. CHARLES MACHINE WORKS INC THE / 1959 W FIR AVEBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  8. CHARLES MACHINE WORKS INC THE / 1959 W FIR AVEToxics Release Inventory · 0.8 mi
  9. Oklahoma Dept. Of TransportationUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  10. Perry Memorial HospitalUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  11. Mr. Perry MartUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  12. Mrs ConvenienceUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi

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

Measured from Perry'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 Perry.

Total Sites

58

within ~10 miles of Perry

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

2 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Perry

High1Moderate17Low40

Highest-Severity Sites

Perry Water & Light Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Charles Machine Works INC the / 1959 W Fir Ave
Toxics Release Inventory · 73077thchr1959f
Charles Machine Works, INC.
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Fir Street Station
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
K & O Quickshop #23
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Perry, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Perry — Mining (4 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (44 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

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

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Perry

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 Perry average

Your land is one point inside Perry

Everything above resolves to Perry as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 4K 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 Perry Average

Perry Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Perry
  • One soil character for all of Perry
  • Frost dates read at Perry's scale: Mar 26 to Nov 11

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Perry

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Perry averages 230Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Perry

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 Perry’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 Perry

When does frost risk typically end in Perry?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Perry typically lands around Mar 26, 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 16.

When is the first frost in Perry?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Perry typically arrives around Nov 11, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 28, so the watching starts about Oct 12 — about 230 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Perry?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Perry sees about 230 frost-free days — roughly Mar 26 through Nov 11, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 16 to Oct 28, about 195 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Perry?

The federal record around Perry shows 58 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (44), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.4 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 Perry?

From about Oct 12 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 11 (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 11. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Perry's scale — its 7a band and its 230-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Perry'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 Perry’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Perry's own scale — its own ~230-day season between 28°F freezes, the 4,363 acres it covers and 58 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Perry's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Perry's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 26 and Nov 11 and the ~230-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 58 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Perry, the closest Brownfields record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Perry's boundary and the 4,363 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~230-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Perry's own centroid, the Central Great PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Perry's 4,363 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Noble County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Noble 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 Noble County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Perry's 4,363 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Perry you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 4,363 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 Perry-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Oklahoma

Wider growing context

What grows across Oklahoma

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