The Shenandoah Valley spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.
A fertile limestone valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny fronts — prime Virginia apple, livestock, and orchard country. On paper, tomato, dogwood, apple, and grape all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.
The Shenandoah Valley spans Virginia.
Your yard isn't all of the Shenandoah Valley.
The Shenandoah Valley spans USDA zones 6a-7a, but your parcel sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. 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 Shenandoah Valley — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
The Shenandoah Valley — the short answer
The Shenandoah Valley: USDA zones 6a-7a, 176–216 frost-free days depending where in it you stand, in Virginia.
- USDA zones
- 6a-7a
- USDA PHZM 2023, aggregated over the footprint
- Shortest season here
- 176 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020 — Highland County
- Counties
- 9
- US Census TIGER/Line 2025
- Region type
- County cluster
- Growable Ground growing-region registry
Region boundary: Growable Ground growing-region registry — curated county clusters, EPA Level III ecoregions, and town clusters drawn finer than any county. The season figure is this region's own record, measured across its 9 member counties, not a state or national average.
Hardiness Zone Range
The Shenandoah Valley is not one growing season
One answer for the Shenandoah Valley averages 9 counties whose growing seasons are 40 days apart — from 176 frost-free days in Highland County to 216 in Warren County. That is the same region, measured the same way, in the same years. Which end of it your land sits nearer decides what finishes before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 9 counties runs 206–214 days, with a median of 210 days — a 40-day span end to end.
Measured across 9 member counties, each carrying its own 28°F normal. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. A member with no own record is absent from the range rather than counted as zero — nothing here is interpolated to the region. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where the line runs inside the Shenandoah Valley
The middle half of the Shenandoah Valley runs 206–214 frost-free days, and 4 of its 9 counties sit outside that — 2 on the short side, 2 on the long. A regional planting date describes the middle well and the ends poorly, which is worth knowing before you follow one.
Under 206 frost-free days
2 counties
- Highland County · 176 days
- Shenandoah County · 201 days
The end of the region that sets the planting calendar — start seed indoors here and the season stretches to meet the crop.
206–214 frost-free days
5 counties
0 of 5 shown
The middle half of the region, and the part a single regional season describes well.
Over 214 frost-free days
2 counties
- Warren County · 216 days
- Clarke County · 216 days
Long enough for a second succession of a quick crop after the first comes out.
Each county is placed by its OWN 28°F frost-free normal (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020), the same figure its own guide page publishes. Elevation, slope and cold-air drainage move a site within its county as well — which is the part only your address resolves.
What Grows in the Shenandoah Valley
All 1 of the plants below that publish a season requirement clear even Highland County’s 176 frost-free days — so on season alone, this grid works at both ends of the region. The 40-day spread still decides how far past this list you can push, and how early you can start.
Plants matched to the Shenandoah Valley's USDA zones 6a-7a, ordered by how much hardiness margin each has across the region — the ones with room to spare at both ends of this band lead. Each links to its full growing profile.
Native Plants of the Shenandoah Valley
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in this region’s state, kept only where the published hardiness range meets the Shenandoah Valley’s USDA zones 6a-7a — closest range match first. Presence is recorded by state, so a plant can be documented across the state and still be scarce in your corner of the region.
The ground across the Shenandoah Valley
The USDA soil survey maps this ground county by county. These are those records weighted by land area across nine member counties — this region’s own profile, not a state figure.
The ground is predominantly Ultisols, at 43% of mapped acres, followed by Inceptisols (36%), Alfisols (17%) and Entisols (4%). Seven soil orders appear somewhere inside the footprint, which is the honest reason a regional soil answer only goes so far. The most extensive named soils are Frederick, Berks, and Weikert.
75% of those acres are well drained, and another 10% somewhat excessively drained, 5% moderately well drained. Topsoil pH runs 4.6–5.9 between the lowest and the highest county on record. 11% of the footprint is classed prime farmland.
Soil order
Ultisols
Drainage
Well drained
Topsoil pH
4.6–5.9
Hydric soils
1%
Soil changes across a driveway, so which of these your own ground sits on is a parcel question rather than a regional one. Augusta County holds the most wetland ground here, at 2% — soil types explained.
USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access
What this means for growing in the Shenandoah Valley
The soil survey reads this ground county by county, and the readings above are those records summed across the Shenandoah Valley. Here is what they mean for a garden here — and the move an experienced grower makes about each one.
Drainage
From county records75% of the mapped acres across the Shenandoah Valley are well drained — ground that drains quickly. That is area-weighted across all nine of its mapped counties.
The upside is soil you can work early in spring and roots that never drown; the cost is that fast-draining ground dries out fast and leaches nutrients away before plants can use them.
Work in compost and mulch to hold moisture and feed, and water more often in short doses than deep and rarely.
USDA NRCS SSURGO
Surface pH
From county recordsTopsoil across the Shenandoah Valley runs pH 4.6–5.9 — acidic in all nine of them.
Blueberries, potatoes, and rhododendrons thrive in it, but most vegetables start locking out nutrients below about pH 6.0 and grow pale and stunted no matter how much you feed them.
A measured lime application raises pH for the crops that need it — but test first, because the right rate depends on your own soil, not the county average.
USDA NRCS SSURGO
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across the Shenandoah Valley — and how to grow with it.
Across the Shenandoah Valley's 9 counties the federal record holds 2,136 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks (1,435), Brownfields (374) and Toxics Release Inventory (118). The heaviest single county is Rockingham County, with 466.
That is a regional count, not a reading of any one lot — proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis. Open the map outlined to the Shenandoah Valley to see which records sit where you actually grow.
Sources Checked
Summed across the 9 counties in the Shenandoah Valley
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around the Shenandoah Valley, two things run higher than the national average across the 9 counties in the Shenandoah Valley — CAFO (21 sites) and PFAS (20 sites). 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.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
Your land is one point inside the Shenandoah Valley
Everything above resolves to the Shenandoah Valley as a whole — a footprint whose own counties record seasons 40 days apart, and hardiness across zones 6a-7a. Your parcel sits at one point in that range, not in the middle of it. 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 region 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 regional average.
Your Lot vs the Shenandoah Valley Average
Shenandoah Valley Average
- ●USDA Zones 6a-7a, averaged across Shenandoah Valley
- ●One soil character for all of Shenandoah Valley
- ●State-average frost dates
YOUR Parcel
- ✓Your exact zone, not Shenandoah Valley's 6a-7a
- ✓Your SSURGO soil type & pH
- ✓Your sun exposure, cast in 3D
See MY Growing Report
Read your parcel in the Shenandoah Valley
Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in the Shenandoah Valley — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, contamination, and scored plant recommendations.
Three things about your lot that Shenandoah Valley averages can't show:
We read public map data around The Shenandoah Valley — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Shenandoah Valley average
How we know this about the Shenandoah Valley
The boundary: a cluster of neighboring counties. Growing regions have no official boundary, so this footprint is our published one, and every figure on this page was measured over the counties inside it rather than borrowed from the state around it.
The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, aggregated across the footprint; the growing season from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS 1991–2020 28°F normals, read at each member’s own record; boundaries from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination record from the federal sources named in that beat above; the soil from the USDA NRCS SSURGO survey, read at each member county’s own record and weighted to this footprint by land area. Where a member carries no record of its own, it is absent from the figure rather than filled in.
Common questions about the Shenandoah Valley
What hardiness zone is the Shenandoah Valley?
The Shenandoah Valley spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7a, aggregated from the USDA Agricultural Research Service Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 across the region's counties. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 data.
How long is the growing season in the Shenandoah Valley?
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, the Shenandoah Valley's counties mostly run 206 to 214 frost-free days, median 210 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991–2020, over 9 member counties). That 8-day spread is the honest read — no single season describes 9 counties, and each county guide below carries its own.
When does frost risk end in the Shenandoah Valley?
Across the Shenandoah Valley, the middle half of member counties see their last 28°F hard freeze between Apr 3 and Apr 4 (median Apr 4), and their first fall freeze between Oct 28 and Nov 2. Those are hard freezes, not the last light frost: tender transplants wait for about Apr 25, and elevation decides which end of a 1-day spread you garden in.
What grows well in the Shenandoah Valley?
The Shenandoah Valley's conditions suit plants such as Tomato, Dogwood, Apple, Grape, Peanut. What actually thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage — we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
How is the Shenandoah Valley defined?
The Shenandoah Valley is defined here as a curated cluster of 9 neighboring counties that share a growing character. Growing regions have no official boundary, so this footprint is our published one — every county in it is named on this page.
Which states does the Shenandoah Valley cover?
The Shenandoah Valley spans Virginia. Each state's full growing guide is linked on this page.
What other growing regions cover the same states?
Appalachia, Piedmont, Tidewater & Chesapeake, Blue Ridge, Delmarva Peninsula, and Hampton Roads / Coastal Southeast Virginia share at least one state with the Shenandoah Valley. Growing regions overlap and interlock — a single address can sit inside more than one, which is why the precise read is always the parcel, not the region.
What this page reads at the Shenandoah Valley’s own scale
6 of the readings below were taken at the Shenandoah Valley's own scale — the zone 6a-7a band across its footprint, a median 210-day season across its 9 counties and 2,136 documented federal contamination records across its 9 counties, 466 of them in Rockingham County alone; one is borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.
Measured here
- The USDA hardiness band 6a-7a aggregated across all 9 counties in the footprintUSDA PHZM 2023
- The boundary itself — the 9 counties this region is curated fromGrowable Ground subregion registry
- The growing character that makes this region distinct from the states it crossesGrowable Ground subregion registry
- The 28°F season across the footprint — the middle half of its 9 counties run 206 to 214 frost-free days, median 210NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020
- The federal contamination record over the whole footprint — 2,136 documented federal contamination records across its 9 counties, 466 of them in Rockingham County aloneEPA, USGS and USDA federal site records
- The soil order mix across the footprint — 43% Ultisols, topsoil pH 4.6–5.9, area-weighted across its 9 mapped countiesUSDA NRCS SSURGO
Inherited from a wider read
- The candidate plant list — its state's curated sets, merged and filtered to zones 6a-7afrom Virginia
What this page can’t tell you
- Which end of the 8-day range your ground sits at — 206 days at one extreme, 214 at the other, decided mostly by elevationfrost dates explained →
- Which of those soils your own ground sits on — the survey maps them county-wide, and they change across a drivewaysoil types explained →
- The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on one specific lotwhy one lot differs from the next →
Explore the Shenandoah Valley
State growing guides
Counties in this region
Other growing regions across Virginia
The vast eastern mountain region of steep hollows, thin acidic soils, and short upland seasons — apples, brambles, ramps, and forest crops on hard-won ground. (Union of the core Appalachian ecoregions.)
The rolling foothill belt between the Appalachians and the coastal plain, defined by heavy red clay soils that reward amendment and drainage. (Southern Piedmont; the Northern Piedmont is a separate ecoregion.)
The low, flat, tidal coastal plain around Chesapeake Bay — sandy soils, mild maritime winters, and a long season for vegetables and Southern staples.
The high, cool, forested spine of the southern Appalachians — layered ridges, acidic mountain loams, and a short upland season suited to apples and cold-hardy crops.
A flat coastal-plain peninsula of sandy, well-drained soils between the Chesapeake and the Atlantic — a major sweet-corn, soybean, and produce region.
The only USDA zone 8b band in Virginia. Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay maritime moderation plus dense urban heat give the waterfront cities of Hampton Roads the state's warmest winters and longest season — roughly 276 to 289 frost-free days on the water (Hampton runs 289), about 60 days longer than the inland coastal plain and over 100 days longer than the mountains. Growers here overwinter hardy greens and roots, and figs and other tender perennials that fail elsewhere in Virginia routinely survive. Inland edges of the metro — Chesapeake, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Newport News — cool to 8a, so the frost-free window shortens as you move off the tidal shoreline.