What Grows in Marble Falls, Texas

USDA Zones 8b · 11K acres

Marble Falls, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

Growers here do well with cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Marble Falls — the short answer

Marble Falls, Texas: USDA zone 8b, about 281 days between hard freezes, across 11K acres of city.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 20
Burnet County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 28
Burnet County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~281
Burnet County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City area
11K 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 Burnet 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 Marble Falls's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Marble Falls's 281-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Marble Falls

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

Season length

From county records

Marble Falls runs about 281 days between hard freezes (read from Burnet County, the closest normal to Marble Falls) — 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

Marble Falls 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 Marble Falls is in

Marble Falls sits in the Edwards Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Marble Falls's own centroid rather than borrowed from Burnet County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Marble Falls

Every plant below cleared Marble Falls's own zone 8b and its 281-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Marble Falls's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Marble Falls's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Marble Falls's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Marble Falls's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in TexasZones 7–10Marble Falls's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Marble Falls's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Marble Falls's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Texas growing notesZones 7–10Marble Falls's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in TexasZones 5–8Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Texas lentil guideZones 2–11Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in TexasZones 5–10Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Texas growing notesZones 2–12Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in TexasZones 5–9Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Texas potato guideZones 2–11Marble Falls's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in TexasZones 3–11Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Marble Falls's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TexasZones 3–8Marble Falls's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Texas growing notesZones 3–8Marble Falls's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasMarble Falls's 281 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Marble Falls's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Texas growing notesZones 6–8Marble Falls's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in TexasZones 5–11Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Texas pearl millet guideZones 5–11Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Texas growing notesZones 4–10Marble Falls's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in TexasZones 2–11Marble Falls's 281 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Marble Falls's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Marble Falls?

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 23; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 28 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the calendar nearly circles: cool-season crops take the winter shift, and the next window is always close.

What's on the federal record near Marble Falls

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

  1. CVS PHARMACY 10691Brownfields · 1400 ft
  2. 890 2ND STUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  3. MUSTANG DRIVE INUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  4. MARBLE FALLS CENTRAL OFFICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  5. GULF STATION PROPERTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  6. LBJ FOOD MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  7. HILLS COUNTRY FOOD MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  8. MARBLE FALLS TEXACOUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  9. J M HUBERUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  10. TRACTOR SUPPLY #561Brownfields · 1.0 mi
  11. TRUSSELLS EXXONUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  12. COUNTRY STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi

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

Measured from Marble Falls'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 Marble Falls.

Total Sites

88

within ~10 miles of Marble Falls

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

9 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Marble Falls

High3Moderate43Low42

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Granite Shoals
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
City of Marble Falls
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7-Eleven Store 40543
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Asphalt INC. Spicewood
Toxics Release Inventory · 7866wsphlt6755e
Big D Food Mart
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Marble Falls, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Marble Falls — PFAS (3 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (9 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 Marble Falls

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 Marble Falls average

Your land is one point inside Marble Falls

Everything above resolves to Marble Falls as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 11K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Burnet 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 Marble Falls Average

Marble Falls Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Marble Falls
  • One soil character for all of Marble Falls
  • Frost dates read at Marble Falls's scale: Feb 20 to Nov 28

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Marble Falls

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Marble Falls averages 281Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Marble Falls

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 Burnet 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 Marble Falls

When does frost risk typically end in Marble Falls?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Marble Falls typically lands around Feb 20, 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 13.

When is the first frost in Marble Falls?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Marble Falls typically arrives around Nov 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 14, so the watching starts about Oct 29 — about 281 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Marble Falls?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Marble Falls sees about 281 frost-free days — roughly Feb 20 through Nov 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 13 to Nov 14, about 246 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Marble Falls?

The federal record around Marble Falls is a meaningful one — 88 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (62), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.3 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 Marble Falls?

From about Oct 29 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 Nov 28 (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 Nov 28. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Marble Falls's scale — its 8b band and its 281-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Marble Falls'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 Marble Falls’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Marble Falls's own scale — the 10,553 acres it covers and 88 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Marble Falls's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 88 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Marble Falls, the closest Brownfields record about 0.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Marble Falls's boundary and the 10,553 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~281-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Marble Falls's own centroid, the Edwards PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Marble Falls has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Burnet County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Marble Falls's 10,553 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Burnet County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Burnet 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 Burnet County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Marble Falls's 10,553 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Marble Falls you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 10,553 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 0.3 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 Marble Falls-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address