What Grows in Jarrell, Texas

USDA Zones 8b · 2K acres

Jarrell, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Well-matched crops include cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens, 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 Jarrell, 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 Jarrell 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 Jarrell — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Jarrell — the short answer

Jarrell, Texas: USDA zone 8b, about 292 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of city.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 13
Williamson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 2
Williamson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~292
Williamson County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City area
2K 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 Williamson County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

8b8b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 8b is Jarrell's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Jarrell's 292-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Jarrell

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

Season length

From county records

Jarrell runs about 292 days between hard freezes (read from Williamson County, the closest normal to Jarrell) — 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

Jarrell sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b.

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 Jarrell is in

Jarrell sits in the Texas Blackland Prairies — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Jarrell's own centroid rather than borrowed from Williamson County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Jarrell

Every plant below cleared Jarrell's own zone 8b and its 292-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Jarrell's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Jarrell's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Jarrell's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Jarrell's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in TexasZones 7–10Jarrell's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Jarrell's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Jarrell's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Texas growing notesZones 7–10Jarrell's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in TexasZones 5–8Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Texas lentil guideZones 2–11Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in TexasZones 5–10Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Texas growing notesZones 2–12Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in TexasZones 5–9Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Texas potato guideZones 2–11Jarrell's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in TexasZones 3–11Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Jarrell's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TexasZones 3–8Jarrell's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Texas growing notesZones 3–8Jarrell's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasJarrell's 292 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Jarrell's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Texas growing notesZones 6–8Jarrell's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in TexasZones 5–11Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Texas pearl millet guideZones 5–11Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Texas growing notesZones 4–10Jarrell's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in TexasZones 2–11Jarrell's 292 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Jarrell's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Jarrell?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 16; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 13 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 2 — 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 Jarrell

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

  1. SONTERRA TRAVEL CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  2. JARRELL TOWN CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  3. CEFCO 42Underground Storage Tanks · 1900 ft
  4. ZK-58-12-4 (Copper Ln)Nitrate · 0.8 mi
  5. JARRELL SCHWERTNER WSCPFAS · 0.9 mi
  6. H & H MOBILUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  7. DOCS ONE STOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  8. JARRELL TEXACOUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  9. BILLS CORNERUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.2 mi
  10. JARRELL FACILITYBrownfields · 1.3 mi
  11. JARRELL PLANTToxics Release Inventory · 1.4 mi
  12. JARRELL FARM SUPPLYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi

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

Measured from Jarrell'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 Jarrell.

Total Sites

53

within ~10 miles of Jarrell

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

10 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Jarrell

High3Moderate35Low15

Highest-Severity Sites

Jarrell Schwertner Wsc
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Sonterra Mud
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Berry Creek Food Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Berry Creek Food Store
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bills Corner
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Jarrell, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Jarrell — PFAS (3 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (10 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

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

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Jarrell

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 Jarrell average

Your land is one point inside Jarrell

Everything above resolves to Jarrell as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 2K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Williamson 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 Jarrell Average

Jarrell Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Jarrell
  • One soil character for all of Jarrell
  • Frost dates read at Jarrell's scale: Feb 13 to Dec 2

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Jarrell's 8b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Jarrell

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Jarrell averages 292Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Jarrell

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 Williamson 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 Jarrell

When does frost risk typically end in Jarrell?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Jarrell typically lands around Feb 13, 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 Mar 6.

When is the first frost in Jarrell?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Jarrell typically arrives around Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 18, so the watching starts about Nov 2 — about 292 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Jarrell?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Jarrell sees about 292 frost-free days — roughly Feb 13 through Dec 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 6 to Nov 18, about 257 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Jarrell?

The federal record around Jarrell is a meaningful one — 53 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (22), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Jarrell?

From about Nov 2 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 2 (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 2. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Jarrell's scale — its 8b band and its 292-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Jarrell'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 Jarrell’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Jarrell's own scale — the 2,340 acres it covers and 53 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Jarrell's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 53 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Jarrell, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Jarrell's boundary and the 2,340 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~292-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Jarrell's own centroid, the Texas Blackland PrairiesUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Jarrell has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Williamson County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Jarrell's 2,340 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Williamson County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Williamson 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 Williamson County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Jarrell's 2,340 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Jarrell you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 2,340 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 Jarrell-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address