What Grows in Weston, Pennsylvania

USDA Zones 6b · 271 acres

Weston, Pennsylvania, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Crops well matched to these conditions include cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, and collard greens — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

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

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Weston — the short answer

Weston, Pennsylvania: USDA zone 6b, about 192 days between hard freezes, across 271 acres of town.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 16
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 25
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~192
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
271 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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Weston's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Weston's 192-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Weston

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

Season length

Measured

Weston runs about 192 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Weston sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

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 Weston is in

Weston sits in the Ridge and Valley — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Weston's own centroid rather than borrowed from Luzerne County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Weston

Every plant below cleared Weston's own zone 6b and its 192-day season. Each card opens that plant's Pennsylvania profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Pennsylvania blackberry guideZones 5–8Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in PennsylvaniaZones 6–10Weston's 6b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 2–11Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in PennsylvaniaZones 5–9Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Pennsylvania lavender guideZones 5–8Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 5–9Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in PennsylvaniaWeston's 192 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Pennsylvania kale guideZones 2–11Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in PennsylvaniaZones 5–10Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 4–9Weston's 192 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Weston's 192 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Pennsylvania okra guideZones 2–12Weston's 192 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–10Weston's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Weston's 192 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Pennsylvania lilac guideZones 4–10Weston's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in PennsylvaniaZones 3–8Weston's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–8Weston's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in PennsylvaniaWeston's 192 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Oregon grape, photograph
Pennsylvania oregon grape guideZones 5–8Weston's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in PennsylvaniaZones 3–9Weston's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 6–8Weston's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in PennsylvaniaZones 3–9Weston's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Pennsylvania ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Weston's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in PennsylvaniaZones 2–7Weston's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 4–10Weston's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Weston's 192 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
Pennsylvania indian grass guideZones 4–9Weston's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Weston?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 19; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 16 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 25 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Even past midsummer there is room for a true fall garden here, and garlic planted near the close carries the momentum into next year.

Documented around Weston

Spotted lanternfly documented 3 miles from Weston, first recorded 2018. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Weston

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

  1. KAMERZEL FUEL SVCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  2. FELEGIE ENTERPRISESBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  3. COAL CONTR 1991Underground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  4. DD SVC STAUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.6 mi
  5. NUREMBERG ELEM SCHUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.6 mi
  6. VOZAR GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  7. KUZMISSION SVC STAUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.7 mi
  8. VALLEY OF THE LAKES SKI VEHICLE MAINT BLDGUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.7 mi
  9. BLACK CREEK TWP LUZERNE CNTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.8 mi
  10. YURCHO TRUCKINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.8 mi
  11. SHEPPTON MINI MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.1 mi
  12. FUEL ON HAZLETONUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.4 mi

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

Measured from Weston'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 Weston.

Total Sites

515

within ~10 miles of Weston

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

5 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Weston

High6Moderate158Low351

Highest-Severity Sites

Humboldt Industrial Park
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Pa American Water Berwick
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
All Steel INC
Toxics Release Inventory · 18201llstl425ja
Aryzta LLC
Toxics Release Inventory · 18201hzlwd2haze

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Weston, Toxics Release Inventory runs higher than the national average — 45 sites within ~10 miles of Weston. 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.

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Weston

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 Weston average

Your land is one point inside Weston

Everything above resolves to Weston as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 271 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 Weston Average

Weston Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Weston
  • One soil character for all of Weston
  • Frost dates read at Weston's scale: Apr 16 to Oct 25

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Weston

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Weston averages 192Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Weston

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 Weston’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 Weston

When does frost risk typically end in Weston?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Weston typically lands around Apr 16, 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 7.

When is the first frost in Weston?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Weston typically arrives around Oct 25, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 11, so the watching starts about Sep 25 — about 192 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Weston?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Weston sees about 192 frost-free days — roughly Apr 16 through Oct 25, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 7 to Oct 11, about 157 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Weston?

The federal record around Weston is a meaningful one — 515 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (300), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Weston?

From about Sep 25 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 25 (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 25. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Weston's scale — its 6b band and its 192-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Weston'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 Weston’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Weston's own scale — its own ~192-day season between 28°F freezes, the 271 acres it covers and 515 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Weston's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Weston's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 16 and Oct 25 and the ~192-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 515 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Weston, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Weston's boundary and the 271 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~192-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Weston's own centroid, the Ridge and ValleyUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Westonlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Weston's 271 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Luzerne County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Luzerne County
  • The growing challenges every Pennsylvania grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Pennsylvania
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Luzerne County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Weston's 271 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Weston you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 271 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Weston-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address