What Grows in Fifth Street, Texas

USDA Zones 9b · 463 acres

Fifth Street, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Reliable performers under these conditions include okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Fifth Street — the short answer

Fifth Street, Texas: USDA zone 9b, about 319 days between hard freezes, across 463 acres of town.

USDA zone
9b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Jan 27
Fort Bend County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 12
Fort Bend County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~319
Fort Bend County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
463 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 Fort Bend 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 Fifth Street's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Fifth Street's 319-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Fifth Street

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

Season length

From county records

Fifth Street runs about 319 days between hard freezes (read from Fort Bend County, the closest normal to Fifth Street) — 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

Fifth Street 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 Fifth Street is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Fifth Street

Every plant below cleared Fifth Street's own zone 9b and its 319-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

okra, photograph
Growing okra in TexasZones 2–12Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Texas meyer lemon guideZones 9–11Fifth Street's 9b is its exact cold limit.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Fifth Street's 9b — 3 zones of cold margin.
artichoke, photograph
Artichoke: Texas growing notesZones 7–11Fifth Street's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Growing avocado in TexasZones 9–11Fifth Street's 9b is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Fifth Street's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Fifth Street's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
banana, photograph
Banana: Texas growing notesZones 9–11Fifth Street's 9b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in TexasFifth Street's 319 days clear the ~90 it needs.
collard greens, photograph
Texas collard greens guideZones 2–11Fifth Street's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Fifth Street's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~70 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in TexasZones 2–11Fifth Street's 9b — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Texas pumpkin guideZones 3–11Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in TexasZones 2–11Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Fifth Street's 9b — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in TexasZones 7–11Fifth Street's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
agave, photograph
Agave: Texas growing notesZones 8–11Fifth Street's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasFifth Street's 319 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Fifth Street's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
palo verde, photograph
Growing palo verde in TexasZones 8–11Fifth Street's 9b — 1 zone of cold margin.
jungle rice, photograph
Texas jungle rice guideZones 7–13Fifth Street's 319 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.
lablab, photograph
Growing lablab in TexasZones 7–13Fifth Street's 9b — 2 zones of cold margin.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Fifth Street's 9b — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Fifth Street?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. 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 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 12 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. In a climate this gentle, “too late” hardly applies — the question becomes which crops prefer the cooler months ahead.

Documented around Fifth Street

Survey cells within 31 miles of Fifth Street checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 489 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Fifth Street

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

  1. FLAMINGO FOOD MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  2. NATIONAL COUPLINGBrownfields · 2400 ft
  3. FIFTH STREET FOOD MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  4. FORT BEND COUNTY WC&ID NO 2Underground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  5. ALL SEASON FOOD STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  6. CHARLTONS BODY RPRBrownfields · 2600 ft
  7. AIR SEAL FILTER HOUSINGSToxics Release Inventory · 0.5 mi
  8. TEXAS COMMERCE BANKUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  9. MAINTENANCE FACILITYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  10. VERIZON STAFFORD CENTRAL OFFICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  11. QUAIL VALLEY UTILITY DISTRICTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  12. HANDI STOP 86Underground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi

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

Measured from Fifth Street'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 Fifth Street.

Total Sites

1,902

within ~10 miles of Fifth Street

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

9 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Fifth Street

High36Moderate623Low1,243

Highest-Severity Sites

Blue Ridge West Mud
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Meadows Place
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Sugar Land
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Sugar Land - Greatwood
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Sugar Land - New Territory
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Fifth Street, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Fifth Street — CAFO (108 sites) and PFAS (35 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Fifth Street

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 Fifth Street average

Your land is one point inside Fifth Street

Everything above resolves to Fifth Street as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 463 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Fort Bend County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’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 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 Fifth Street Average

Fifth Street Average

  • USDA Zones 9b, averaged across Fifth Street
  • One soil character for all of Fifth Street
  • Frost dates read at Fifth Street's scale: Jan 27 to Dec 12

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Fifth Street

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Fifth Street averages 319Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Fifth Street

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 Fort Bend 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 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 Fifth Street

When does frost risk typically end in Fifth Street?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Fifth Street typically lands around Jan 27, 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 17.

When is the first frost in Fifth Street?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Fifth Street typically arrives around Dec 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 28, so the watching starts about Nov 12 — about 319 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Fifth Street?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Fifth Street sees about 319 frost-free days — roughly Jan 27 through Dec 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 17 to Nov 28, about 284 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Fifth Street?

The federal record around Fifth Street runs heavier than most — 1,902 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (1,208), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out — 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Fifth Street?

From about Nov 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 Dec 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 Dec 12. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Fifth Street's scale — its 9b band and its 319-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Fifth Street'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 Fifth Street’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Fifth Street's own scale — the 463 acres it covers and 1,902 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Fifth Street's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 1,902 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Fifth Street, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Fifth Street's boundary and the 463 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9b and a ~319-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Fifth Street's own centroid, the Western Gulf Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Fifth Street checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Fifth Street has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Fort Bend County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Fifth Street's 463 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Fort Bend County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Fort Bend 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 Fort Bend County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Fifth Street's 463 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Fifth Street you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 463 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Fifth Street-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Texas

Wider growing context

What grows across Texas

Fifth Street sits outside our named growing regions, so Texas as a whole is its closest context here.