What Grows in Mound, Texas

USDA Zones 8b · 458 acres

Mound, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8b — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Among the crops suited to this profile: cabbage, fig, california poppy, and collard greens. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Mound — the short answer

Mound, Texas: USDA zone 8b, about 287 days between hard freezes, across 458 acres of town.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 17
Coryell County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 1
Coryell County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~287
Coryell County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
458 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 Coryell 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 Mound's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Mound's 287-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Mound

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

Season length

From county records

Mound runs about 287 days between hard freezes (read from Coryell County, the closest normal to Mound) — 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

Mound 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 Mound is in

Mound sits in the Cross Timbers — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Mound's own centroid rather than borrowed from Coryell County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Mound

Every plant below cleared Mound's own zone 8b and its 287-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Mound's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Mound's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Mound's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Mound's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in TexasZones 7–10Mound's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Mound's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Mound's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Texas growing notesZones 7–10Mound's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in TexasZones 5–8Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Texas lentil guideZones 2–11Mound's 287 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in TexasZones 5–10Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Texas growing notesZones 2–12Mound's 287 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in TexasZones 5–9Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Texas potato guideZones 2–11Mound's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in TexasZones 3–11Mound's 287 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Mound's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Mound's 287 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TexasZones 3–8Mound's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Texas growing notesZones 3–8Mound's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasMound's 287 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Mound's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Texas growing notesZones 6–8Mound's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in TexasZones 5–11Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Texas pearl millet guideZones 5–11Mound's 287 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Texas growing notesZones 4–10Mound's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in TexasZones 2–11Mound's 287 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Mound's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Mound?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 20; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 17 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 1 — 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 Mound

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

  1. WAL-MART STORE NO 476Brownfields · 2.7 mi
  2. US ARMY SOUTH FORT HOODPFAS · 3.1 mi
  3. CEFCO 32Underground Storage Tanks · 4.7 mi
  4. K EXPRESS 11Underground Storage Tanks · 5.0 mi
  5. FT GATES GROCERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.1 mi
  6. HAMONS AUTO BODYBrownfields · 5.3 mi
  7. GREENSTONE DRIVE THRU BEER BARNUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi
  8. GATESVILLE READY MIXToxics Release Inventory · 5.8 mi
  9. FIBRE BODY INDUSTRIESToxics Release Inventory · 6.4 mi
  10. QUICK STOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.6 mi
  11. WAL-MART SUPERCENTER 476Underground Storage Tanks · 6.7 mi
  12. MURPHY USA 7223Underground Storage Tanks · 6.7 mi

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

Measured from Mound'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 Mound.

Total Sites

88

within ~10 miles of Mound

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

3 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Mound

High2Moderate19Low67

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Gatesville
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
US Army South Fort Hood
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7-Eleven Store 40557
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
A & a Chevron
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Cefco 31
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Mound, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 78 sites within ~10 miles of Mound. 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 Mound

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 Mound average

Your land is one point inside Mound

Everything above resolves to Mound as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 458 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Coryell 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 Mound Average

Mound Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Mound
  • One soil character for all of Mound
  • Frost dates read at Mound's scale: Feb 17 to Dec 1

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Mound

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Mound averages 287Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Mound

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 Coryell 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 Mound

When does frost risk typically end in Mound?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Mound typically lands around Feb 17, 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 10.

When is the first frost in Mound?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Mound typically arrives around Dec 1, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 17, so the watching starts about Nov 1 — about 287 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Mound?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Mound sees about 287 frost-free days — roughly Feb 17 through Dec 1, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 10 to Nov 17, about 252 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Mound?

The federal record around Mound shows 88 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (78), the nearest Brownfields record about 2.7 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Mound?

From about Nov 1 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 1 (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 1. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Mound's scale — its 8b band and its 287-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Mound'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 Mound’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Mound's own scale — the 458 acres it covers and 88 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Mound's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 88 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Mound, the closest Brownfields record about 2.7 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Mound's boundary and the 458 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~287-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Mound's own centroid, the Cross TimbersUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Mound has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Coryell County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Mound's 458 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Coryell County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Coryell 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 Coryell County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Mound's 458 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Mound you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 458 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 2.7 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 Mound-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Texas

Wider growing context

What grows across Texas

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