Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-10a, with a growing season of about 320 frost-free days — a climate where frost is rarely the limit; the real planning question is which crops handle the summer heat.
The growing year is built on 8-56 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 5,000 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 600 winter chill hours for tree fruit, and every crop choice answers to them. Expect black clay (Blackland Prairie), sandy loam, caliche, and red clay underfoot; what unites them is that their drainage, good or poor, sets the ceiling on most crops. No single calendar covers Texas: High Plains, Gulf Coast, and Texas Hill Country each open and close their seasons on their own schedule. Crops well matched to these conditions include pecan, tomato, okra, and bluebonnet — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Texas spans zones 6b-10a, 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 Texas — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
6b-10a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Feb 1 - Apr 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 15 - Dec 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
8-56 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Texas. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Texas — 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
Slow when wet and swollen; the same cracks that open in drought let the first rains plunge deep before the clay seals again.
What thrives
This is historically famous crop ground — corn, sorghum, and cotton country — and in the garden it grows vigorous tomatoes, okra, melons, and brassicas once warm. Its typical alkalinity suits figs, pomegranates, and many Mediterranean herbs.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
Drainage
The layer itself is nearly waterproof: water perches on top of it, and roots stop where it starts unless it is broken.
What thrives
Desert natives handle caliche country naturally — mesquite, desert willow, agave, and wildflowers. Vegetables and fruit trees succeed where planting holes punch through the layer or beds rise above it.
Drainage
Slow. Red clay seals under pounding rain and sheds water across the surface, then holds tight to what soaks in.
What thrives
Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, and muscadines are traditional red-clay performers, and many fruit trees root deep into it once through the first year. Azaleas and blueberries appreciate its typical acidity.
Drainage
Usually good: rivers sort their loads, and most alluvial soils have enough sand and silt to move water while holding plenty for roots. Low-lying pockets can run wet.
What thrives
Nearly everything — vegetables, orchards, vines, and berries all prosper on alluvium. Its depth lets roots go as far down as they care to.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Texas's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
The plants Texas put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Bluebonnet
Lupinus
Designated 1901.
Carya illinoinensis
Designated 1919. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Texas red grapefruit
Designated 1993.
Sweet onion
Designated 1997.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Texas — 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 Texas’s USDA zones 6b-10a 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.
Extreme heat (100F+ days) stresses many crops from June through September
Run the garden on spring and fall windows and give summer survivors afternoon shade — timing beats fighting the heat.
Rainfall varies dramatically — 8 inches in west TX to 56 inches in east TX
Your county's rainfall, not the state's, sets the watering plan — check your exact spot before designing beds.
Heavy black clay (Blackland Prairie) is difficult to work and drains poorly
A raised bed with amended soil turns Blackland clay from an obstacle into a backdrop — and that clay feeds deep roots well.
Flash drought conditions can develop rapidly even in wet years
Mulch deep and water deeply-but-rarely to grow drought-tough roots; a drip system pays for itself in the first dry summer.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Texas, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Texas — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Texas — 93,167 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 480 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Texas 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 Texas
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Texas, two things run higher than the national average — PFAS (1,103 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (61,246 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.
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
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6b-10a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
The last spring frost in Texas is typically around Feb 1 - Apr 15, and the first fall frost around Oct 15 - Dec 15, per NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991–2020). Your specific site may differ — frost dates vary by elevation, proximity to water, and local microclimate.
Texas's zones 6b-10a support a wide range — strong performers include Pecan, Tomato, Okra, Bluebonnet, and Jalapeno. 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, Texas spans USDA zones 6b-10a (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 Texas runs heavier than most — 93,167 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. Texas spans USDA zones 6b-10a, which sets what survives winter; the statewide frost window runs about Feb 1 - Apr 15 to Oct 15 - Dec 15 (NOAA 30-year climate normals); and 93,167 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 Texas 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 Texas.
Texas shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
