What Grows in Troy, Tennessee

USDA Zones 7b · 862 acres

Troy, Tennessee, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

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 Troy, 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 Troy 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 Troy — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Troy — the short answer

Troy, Tennessee: USDA zone 7b, about 236 days between hard freezes, across 862 acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 21
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 12
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~236
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
862 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 Troy's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Troy's 236-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Troy

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

Season length

Measured

Troy 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

Troy 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 Troy is in

Troy sits in the Mississippi Valley Loess Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Troy's own centroid rather than borrowed from Obion County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Troy

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

Is it too late to plant in Troy?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 21; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 21 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 12 — 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.

What's on the federal record near Troy

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

  1. Storey SawmillUnderground Storage Tanks · 200 ft
  2. Little General #57Underground Storage Tanks · 1400 ft
  3. Freeman Machinery CoUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  4. Town Of TroyUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  5. Lil General #38Underground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  6. South Central TroytnmtUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  7. Hanafee Bros. SawmillUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  8. Hilltop ConvienceUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  9. Osborne Sport CenterUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  10. Ob:H-010Nitrate · 2.2 mi
  11. Troy Tennessee (qgt) RcagUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.9 mi
  12. Barker Bros Waste Inc.Underground Storage Tanks · 3.1 mi

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

Measured from Troy'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 Troy.

Total Sites

149

within ~10 miles of Troy

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Troy

High0Moderate45Low104

Highest-Severity Sites

A and H Quick Stop No. 2
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bp Mini Mart No. 8
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Brown Shoe CO
Toxics Release Inventory · 38261brwns2315n
Baptist Memorial Hospital
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Casey'S General Store No. 3618
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Troy, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Troy — Underground Storage Tanks (111 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (11 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

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

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Troy

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 Troy average

Your land is one point inside Troy

Everything above resolves to Troy as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 862 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 Troy Average

Troy Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Troy
  • One soil character for all of Troy
  • Frost dates read at Troy's scale: Mar 21 to Nov 12

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Troy

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

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

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

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

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

How we know this about Troy

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 Troy’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 Troy

When does frost risk typically end in Troy?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Troy typically lands around Mar 21, 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 11.

When is the first frost in Troy?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Troy typically arrives around Nov 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 29, so the watching starts about Oct 13 — about 236 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Troy?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Troy sees about 236 frost-free days — roughly Mar 21 through Nov 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 11 to Oct 29, about 201 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Troy?

The federal record around Troy is a meaningful one — 149 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (111), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Troy?

From about Oct 13 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 12 (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 12. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Troy's scale — its 7b band and its 236-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Troy'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 Troy’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Troy's own scale — its own ~236-day season between 28°F freezes, the 862 acres it covers and 149 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Troy's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Troy's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 21 and Nov 12 and the ~236-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 149 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Troy, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Troy's boundary and the 862 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 Troy's own centroid, the Mississippi Valley Loess PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Troy's 862 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Obion County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Obion 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 Obion County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Troy's 862 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Troy you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 862 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Troy-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address