What Grows in Beach City, Texas

USDA Zones 9b · 3K acres

Beach City, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Well-matched crops include okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Beach City — the short answer

Beach City, Texas: USDA zone 9b, about 326 days between hard freezes, across 3K acres of city.

USDA zone
9b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Jan 25
Chambers County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 17
Chambers County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~326
Chambers County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City area
3K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Chambers County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9b9b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9b is Beach City's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Beach City's 326-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Beach City

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

Season length

From county records

Beach City runs about 326 days between hard freezes (read from Chambers County, the closest normal to Beach City) — close to year-round growing.

Frost is rarely the limit here; winter plantings are as real as summer ones, and the harder question is which crops shrug off the summer heat.

Grow cool-season crops through the mild winter, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for the summer beds.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Beach City sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b.

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 Beach City is in

Beach City sits in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Beach City's own centroid rather than borrowed from Chambers County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Beach City

Every plant below cleared Beach City's own zone 9b and its 326-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

okra, photograph
Growing okra in TexasZones 2–12Beach City's 326 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Texas meyer lemon guideZones 9–11Beach City's 9b is its exact cold limit.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Beach City's 9b — 3 zones of cold margin.
artichoke, photograph
Artichoke: Texas growing notesZones 7–11Beach City's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Growing avocado in TexasZones 9–11Beach City's 9b is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Beach City's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Beach City's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
banana, photograph
Banana: Texas growing notesZones 9–11Beach City's 9b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in TexasBeach City's 326 days clear the ~90 it needs.
collard greens, photograph
Texas collard greens guideZones 2–11Beach City's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Beach City's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Beach City's 326 days clear the ~70 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in TexasZones 2–11Beach City's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Texas pumpkin guideZones 3–11Beach City's 326 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in TexasZones 2–11Beach City's 326 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Beach City's 9b — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Beach City's 326 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in TexasZones 7–11Beach City's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
agave, photograph
Agave: Texas growing notesZones 8–11Beach City's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasBeach City's 326 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Beach City's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
palo verde, photograph
Growing palo verde in TexasZones 8–11Beach City's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
jungle rice, photograph
Texas jungle rice guideZones 7–13Beach City's 326 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
lablab, photograph
Growing lablab in TexasZones 7–13Beach City's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Beach City's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Beach City?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 1; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Jan 25 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 17 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With almost year-round growing weather, timing is about heat and rainfall more than frost — some bench is always in play.

What's on the federal record near Beach City

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

  1. POINT BARROW FIELDUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  2. DH-64-18-108Nitrate · 0.8 mi
  3. OASIS GRAND PARKWAYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.7 mi
  4. DH-64-10-702Nitrate · 1.9 mi
  5. PALMER LOGISTICSBrownfields · 2.1 mi
  6. CHAMBERS COUNTY MUD 1PFAS · 2.2 mi
  7. CITY OF BAYTOWNPFAS · 2.2 mi
  8. GRAY UTILITY SERVICEPFAS · 2.2 mi
  9. NIAGARA BOTTLING, LLC. - BAYBrownfields · 2.6 mi
  10. CEMEX CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS HOUSTON, LLC - HWY 99Toxics Release Inventory · 2.8 mi
  11. SUMIKA SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS TEXASBrownfields · 2.8 mi
  12. HUNTING ENERGY SERVICESBrownfields · 2.9 mi

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

Measured from Beach City'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 Beach City.

Total Sites

527

within ~10 miles of Beach City

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

9 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Beach City

High6Moderate265Low256

Highest-Severity Sites

Chambers County Mud 1
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Baytown
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Mont Belvieu
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7-Eleven Store 40978
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Air Products
Toxics Release Inventory · 7752wrprdc7714b

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Beach City, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Beach City — Toxics Release Inventory (59 sites) and PFAS (7 sites). 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.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

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

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Beach City

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 Beach City average

Your land is one point inside Beach City

Everything above resolves to Beach City as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 3K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Chambers County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this city’s own centroid. 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 city 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 Beach City Average

Beach City Average

  • USDA Zones 9b, averaged across Beach City
  • One soil character for all of Beach City
  • Frost dates read at Beach City's scale: Jan 25 to Dec 17

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Beach City's 9b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Beach City

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Beach City averages 326Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Beach City

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Chambers County’s record, because none resolves here; 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 city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-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 Beach City

When does frost risk typically end in Beach City?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Beach City typically lands around Jan 25, 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 Feb 15.

When is the first frost in Beach City?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Beach City typically arrives around Dec 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Dec 3, so the watching starts about Nov 17 — about 326 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Beach City?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Beach City sees about 326 frost-free days — roughly Jan 25 through Dec 17, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 15 to Dec 3, about 291 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Beach City?

The federal record around Beach City is a meaningful one — 527 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (225), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 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 Beach City?

From about Nov 17 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 Dec 17 (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 Dec 17. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Beach City's scale — its 9b band and its 326-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Beach City'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 Beach City’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Beach City's own scale — the 2,867 acres it covers and 527 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Beach City's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 527 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Beach City, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Beach City's boundary and the 2,867 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9b and a ~326-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Beach City's own centroid, the Western Gulf Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Beach City has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Chambers County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Beach City's 2,867 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Chambers County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Chambers County
  • The growing challenges every Texas grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Texas
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Chambers County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Beach City's 2,867 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Beach City you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 2,867 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.6 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 Beach City-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address