What Grows in Green Hill, Tennessee

USDA Zones 7b · 2K acres

Green Hill, Tennessee, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, prickly pear, california poppy, and collard greens — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Green Hill — the short answer

Green Hill, Tennessee: USDA zone 7b, about 236 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 20
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
~236
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
2K 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

7b7b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7b is Green Hill's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Green Hill's 236-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Green Hill

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

Season length

Measured

Green Hill runs about 236 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

Green Hill sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b.

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 Green Hill is in

Green Hill sits in the Interior Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Green Hill's own centroid rather than borrowed from Wilson County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Green Hill

Every plant below cleared Green Hill's own zone 7b and its 236-day season. Each card opens that plant's Tennessee profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TennesseeZones 2–11Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Tennessee prickly pear guideZones 5–10Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TennesseeZones 6–10Green Hill's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Tennessee growing notesZones 2–11Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Growing fig in TennesseeZones 6–10Green Hill's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Tennessee lavender guideZones 5–8Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in TennesseeZones 2–10Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: Tennessee growing notesZones 6–9Green Hill's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in TennesseeGreen Hill's 236 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Tennessee kale guideZones 2–11Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in TennesseeZones 4–9Green Hill's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Tennessee growing notesZones 2–11Green Hill's 236 days clear the ~70 it needs.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in TennesseeZones 5–9Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Tennessee okra guideZones 2–12Green Hill's 236 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in TennesseeZones 2–11Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Tennessee growing notesZones 3–10Green Hill's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TennesseeZones 2–11Green Hill's 236 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Tennessee apache plume guideZones 5–11Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TennesseeZones 3–8Green Hill's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Tennessee growing notesZones 3–8Green Hill's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TennesseeGreen Hill's 236 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Tennessee holly guideZones 5–11Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in TennesseeZones 3–9Green Hill's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Tennessee growing notesZones 6–8Green Hill's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in TennesseeZones 4–10Green Hill's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Tennessee ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Green Hill's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in TennesseeZones 2–7Green Hill's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Tennessee growing notesZones 5–11Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in TennesseeZones 5–10Green Hill's 236 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Tennessee ajuga guideZones 5–11Green Hill's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Green Hill?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 20; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 20 (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. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.

Documented around Green Hill

Spotted lanternfly documented 1 miles from Green Hill, first recorded 2023. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Green Hill

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

  1. Mapco Express #3319Underground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  2. Adams GulfUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  3. Earheart RealtyUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  4. 4205 Shell Food MartUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  5. National Weather Service OfficeUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  6. Citgo Gas StationUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.2 mi
  7. TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY #500Brownfields · 1.2 mi
  8. Kwik Sak #615Underground Storage Tanks · 1.3 mi
  9. Hurry Back Market - 100267Underground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  10. J And S Market(formerly)Underground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  11. PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS #182Brownfields · 1.6 mi
  12. Murphy USA #6986Underground Storage Tanks · 1.7 mi

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

Measured from Green Hill'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 Green Hill.

Total Sites

745

within ~10 miles of Green Hill

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

4 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Green Hill

High2Moderate216Low527

Highest-Severity Sites

4205 Shell Food Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven INC. No. 41074
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
American Wonder Porcelain
Toxics Release Inventory · 3709wmrcnw276hi
Celestica
Toxics Release Inventory · 3712wclstc795ea
Capitol City Market #156
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Green Hill, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 490 sites within ~10 miles of Green Hill. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Green Hill

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 Green Hill average

Your land is one point inside Green Hill

Everything above resolves to Green Hill as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 2K 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 Green Hill Average

Green Hill Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Green Hill
  • One soil character for all of Green Hill
  • Frost dates read at Green Hill's scale: Mar 20 to Nov 11

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Green Hill

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Green Hill averages 236Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Green Hill

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 Green Hill’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 Green Hill

When does frost risk typically end in Green Hill?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Green Hill typically lands around Mar 20, 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 10.

When is the first frost in Green Hill?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Green Hill 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 236 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Green Hill?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Green Hill sees about 236 frost-free days — roughly Mar 20 through Nov 11, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 10 to Oct 28, about 201 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Green Hill?

The federal record around Green Hill is a meaningful one — 745 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (490), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.9 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 Green Hill?

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 Green Hill's scale — its 7b band and its 236-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Green Hill'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 Green Hill’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Green Hill's own scale — its own ~236-day season between 28°F freezes, the 2,224 acres it covers and 745 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Green Hill's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Green Hill's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 20 and Nov 11 and the ~236-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 745 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Green Hill, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.9 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Green Hill's boundary and the 2,224 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7b and a ~236-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Green Hill's own centroid, the Interior PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Green Hilllydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Green Hill's 2,224 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Wilson County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Wilson County
  • The growing challenges every Tennessee grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Tennessee
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Wilson County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Green Hill's 2,224 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Green Hill you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 2,224 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.9 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 Green Hill-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address