What Grows in Hill Country Village, Texas

USDA Zones 9a · 1K acres

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

On paper, artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Hill Country Village — the short answer

Hill Country Village, Texas: USDA zone 9a, about 306 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of city.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 6
Bexar County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 9
Bexar County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~306
Bexar County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City area
1K 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 Bexar County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9a9a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9a is Hill Country Village's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hill Country Village's 306-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hill Country Village

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

Season length

From county records

Hill Country Village runs about 306 days between hard freezes (read from Bexar County, the closest normal to Hill Country Village) — 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

Hill Country Village sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a.

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 Hill Country Village is in

Hill Country Village sits in the Edwards Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Hill Country Village's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: Bexar County is mostly Texas Blackland Prairies. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hill Country Village

Every plant below cleared Hill Country Village's own zone 9a and its 306-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in TexasZones 7–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in TexasZones 9–11Hill Country Village's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in TexasZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Texas growing notesZones 9–11Hill Country Village's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in TexasHill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Texas kale guideZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in TexasZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Texas growing notesZones 2–12Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in TexasZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Texas pumpkin guideZones 3–11Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in TexasZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in TexasZones 7–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasHill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in TexasZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Texas crab grass guideZones 7–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Texas growing notesZones 4–10Hill Country Village's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in TexasZones 7–11Hill Country Village's 306 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Hill Country Village's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hill Country Village?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 9; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 6 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 9 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.

Documented around Hill Country Village

Survey cells within 31 miles of Hill Country Village checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 665 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Hill Country Village

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

  1. AY-68-29-109Nitrate · 1900 ft
  2. AY-68-29-401Nitrate · 2600 ft
  3. AY-68-29-410Nitrate · 0.5 mi
  4. LEASCOUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  5. BROOKHOLLOW TEXACOUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  6. 7-ELEVEN 36287Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  7. TEXAS SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  8. JIFFY LUBE STORE NO 683Brownfields · 0.6 mi
  9. JIFFY LUBEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  10. AY-68-29-104Nitrate · 0.7 mi
  11. CORNER STORE 1019Underground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  12. E-Z MART 603Underground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi

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

Measured from Hill Country Village'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 Hill Country Village.

Total Sites

1,912

within ~10 miles of Hill Country Village

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

6 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hill Country Village

High4Moderate785Low1,123

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Leon Valley
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Live Oak
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Eldorado Chemical CO INC
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Saws Castle Hills
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
1711 Ne Loop 410
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hill Country Village, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 1,303 sites within ~10 miles of Hill Country Village. 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 Hill Country Village

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 Hill Country Village average

Your land is one point inside Hill Country Village

Everything above resolves to Hill Country Village as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Bexar 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 Hill Country Village Average

Hill Country Village Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Hill Country Village
  • One soil character for all of Hill Country Village
  • Frost dates read at Hill Country Village's scale: Feb 6 to Dec 9

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Hill Country Village's 9a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hill Country Village

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hill Country Village averages 306Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Hill Country Village

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 Bexar 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 Hill Country Village

When does frost risk typically end in Hill Country Village?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hill Country Village typically lands around Feb 6, 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 27.

When is the first frost in Hill Country Village?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hill Country Village typically arrives around Dec 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 25, so the watching starts about Nov 9 — about 306 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hill Country Village?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hill Country Village sees about 306 frost-free days — roughly Feb 6 through Dec 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 27 to Nov 25, about 271 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hill Country Village?

The federal record around Hill Country Village is a meaningful one — 1,912 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (1,303), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.4 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 Hill Country Village?

From about Nov 9 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 9 (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 9. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Hill Country Village's scale — its 9a band and its 306-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hill Country Village'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 Hill Country Village’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Hill Country Village's own scale — the 1,403 acres it covers and 1,912 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hill Country Village's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 1,912 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hill Country Village, the closest Nitrate record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hill Country Village's boundary and the 1,403 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~306-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Hill Country Village sits in the Edwards Plateau — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Hill Country Village checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Hill Country Village has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Bexar County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Hill Country Village's 1,403 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Bexar County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Bexar 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 Bexar County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hill Country Village's 1,403 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Hill Country Village you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,403 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.4 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 Hill Country Village-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Texas

Wider growing context

What grows across Texas

Hill Country Village sits outside our named growing regions, so Texas as a whole is its closest context here.