Pennsylvania spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-7a, with a growing season of about 190 frost-free days — a working season long enough for the classics, short enough that timing around frost stays part of the craft.
What the season actually delivers comes down to 36-48 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,200 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,350 winter chill hours for tree fruit. Underfoot it's mostly silt loam, shale-derived, limestone-derived, and glacial till — and how those drain decides more about crop success than almost anything else. The conditions favor apple, tomato, grape, and mountain laurel, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Pennsylvania spans zones 5a-7a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Pennsylvania — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
5a-7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 10 - May 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Sep 25 - Oct 25
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
36-48 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Pennsylvania. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Pennsylvania — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
No verified open-license photo yet — clayey, plate-littered ground; see the limestone profile for the rock-born register.
Drainage
Two-natured: the clay fraction holds water while the shale fragments and fractured bedrock open channels, so hillside shale soils often drain better than their texture suggests.
What thrives
Orchards and vineyards have long favored shale hillsides — the drainage and the heat the rock holds suit deep roots. Brambles, asparagus, and hardy perennials establish well.
Drainage
Good to fast: fractured limestone under the soil carries water away quickly, and shallow profiles dry sooner than deep ones.
What thrives
Lime-loving plants prosper — lavender, thyme, sage, brassicas, beets, figs, and wine grapes have limestone pedigrees worldwide. Many native wildflowers of glade and prairie are limestone specialists.
Drainage
Variable by the shovelful. Sandy till drains freely; dense, compacted till (hardpan) can perch water above it after snowmelt and heavy rain.
What thrives
Apples, stone fruits, brambles, and the whole northern vegetable garden do well on till — much of New England and the upper Midwest farms it. Deep-rooted perennials work through the stony structure happily.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Pennsylvania's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Across Pennsylvania, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 1, with the middle half of counties between Mar 25 and Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 12 and Nov 23 — 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.
The plants Pennsylvania put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Kalmia latifolia
Designated 1933. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Tsuga canadensis
Designated 1931. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Pennsylvania — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Pennsylvania’s USDA zones 5a-7a but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Rocky shale soils in the ridge-and-valley region
Build up over shale rather than into it — raised beds with imported soil give roots depth the ridge won't.
Short mountain seasons in the Poconos and Alleghenies
Mountain growers stretch the season with cold frames and fast varieties — the missing weeks are recoverable.
Deer pressure is among the highest in the US
In the hardest-hit deer country, a tall fence is the only reliable line — resistant plants cover the rest.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Pennsylvania, the Penn State Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Pennsylvania — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Pennsylvania — 68,671 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 393 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Pennsylvania carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Pennsylvania
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Pennsylvania, CAFO runs higher than the national average — 642 sites nearby. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Pennsylvania spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-7a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Across Pennsylvania, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 1, with the middle half of counties between Mar 25 and Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 12 and Nov 23 — 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.
Across Pennsylvania, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Mar 25 and Apr 7, with a county median near Apr 1 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Pennsylvania's counties mostly run about 218 to 243 days, with a county median near 230 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Pennsylvania's zones 5a-7a support a wide range — strong performers include Apple, Tomato, Grape, Mountain Laurel, and Mushroom. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Pennsylvania spans USDA zones 5a-7a (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Pennsylvania runs heavier than most — 68,671 documented sites — 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.
Start with three facts. Pennsylvania spans USDA zones 5a-7a, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Mar 25 to Apr 7 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 68,671 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a Pennsylvania average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
