What Grows in Normanna, Texas

USDA Zones 9b · 860 acres

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

Crops well matched to these conditions include okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

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

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Normanna — the short answer

Normanna, Texas: USDA zone 9b, about 319 days between hard freezes, across 860 acres of town.

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

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Normanna

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

Season length

From county records

Normanna runs about 319 days between hard freezes (read from Bee County, the closest normal to Normanna) — 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

Normanna 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 Normanna is in

Normanna sits in the East Central Texas Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Normanna's own centroid rather than borrowed from Bee County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Normanna

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

Is it too late to plant in Normanna?

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 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.

What's on the federal record near Normanna

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

  1. AW-79-26-904Nitrate · 550 ft
  2. AW-79-26-902Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  3. AW-79-26-802Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  4. AW-79-26-801Nitrate · 1.9 mi
  5. AW-79-26-601Nitrate · 2.4 mi
  6. SILVER OAK FACILITYToxics Release Inventory · 3.1 mi
  7. AW-79-27-401Nitrate · 4.5 mi
  8. AW-79-26-404Nitrate · 4.5 mi
  9. AW-79-34-205Nitrate · 4.6 mi
  10. LONE STAR PROCESSING FACILITYToxics Release Inventory · 4.7 mi
  11. AW-79-34-605Nitrate · 5.4 mi
  12. KOCH PIPELINE CO - PETTUS #2 STATIONBrownfields · 5.5 mi

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

Measured from Normanna'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 Normanna.

Total Sites

181

within ~10 miles of Normanna

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

4 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Normanna

High2Moderate100Low79

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Beeville
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Tdcj Chase Field
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7-Eleven Store 40800
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven Store 40804
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven Store 40806
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Normanna, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 66 sites within ~10 miles of Normanna. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Normanna

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 Normanna average

Your land is one point inside Normanna

Everything above resolves to Normanna as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 860 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Bee 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 Normanna Average

Normanna Average

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

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Normanna

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

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

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

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

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

How we know this about Normanna

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 Bee 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 Normanna

When does frost risk typically end in Normanna?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Normanna 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 Normanna?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Normanna 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 Normanna?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Normanna 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 Normanna?

The federal record around Normanna shows 181 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (102), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.1 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 Normanna?

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 Normanna's scale — its 9b band and its 319-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Normanna'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 Normanna’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Normanna's own scale — the 860 acres it covers and 181 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Normanna's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 181 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Normanna, the closest Nitrate record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Normanna's boundary and the 860 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 Normanna's own centroid, the East Central Texas PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Normanna has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Bee County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Normanna's 860 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Bee County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Bee 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 Bee County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Normanna's 860 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Normanna you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 860 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.1 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 Normanna-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address