What Grows in Scurry, Texas

USDA Zones 8b · 1K acres

Scurry, 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 Scurry, 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 Scurry 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 Scurry — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Scurry — the short answer

Scurry, Texas: USDA zone 8b, about 280 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 20
Kaufman County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 27
Kaufman County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~280
Kaufman County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town 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 Kaufman 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 Scurry's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Scurry's 280-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Scurry

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

Season length

From county records

Scurry runs about 280 days between hard freezes (read from Kaufman County, the closest normal to Scurry) — 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

Scurry 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 Scurry is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Scurry

Every plant below cleared Scurry's own zone 8b and its 280-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Scurry's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Scurry's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Scurry's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Scurry's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in TexasZones 7–10Scurry's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Texas rosemary guideZones 8–10Scurry's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in TexasZones 2–11Scurry's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Texas growing notesZones 7–10Scurry's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in TexasZones 5–8Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Texas lentil guideZones 2–11Scurry's 280 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in TexasZones 5–10Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Texas growing notesZones 2–12Scurry's 280 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in TexasZones 5–9Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Texas potato guideZones 2–11Scurry's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in TexasZones 3–11Scurry's 280 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Scurry's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Scurry's 280 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TexasZones 3–8Scurry's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Texas growing notesZones 3–8Scurry's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasScurry's 280 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Scurry's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Texas growing notesZones 6–8Scurry's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in TexasZones 5–11Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Texas pearl millet guideZones 5–11Scurry's 280 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Texas growing notesZones 4–10Scurry's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in TexasZones 2–11Scurry's 280 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Texas liriope guideZones 5–11Scurry's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Scurry?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. 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 27 — 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 Scurry

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

  1. KELLYS FOODUnderground Storage Tanks · 200 ft
  2. SCURRY NORTH FORTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 750 ft
  3. SCURRY-ROSSER ISDUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.9 mi
  4. K & J FAMILY MARKETUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi
  5. TXDOT KAUFMAN MAINTENANCEUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi
  6. BROOKSHIRE GROCERY 35Underground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi
  7. PANTEX MANUFACTURING INCORPORATEDToxics Release Inventory · 5.9 mi
  8. TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD ARMORYUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.9 mi
  9. SALS BEER WINE & GROCERIESUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.0 mi
  10. CIRCLE K 2706341Underground Storage Tanks · 6.1 mi
  11. WALMART 4164Underground Storage Tanks · 6.1 mi
  12. KOUNTRY KORNERUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.2 mi

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

Measured from Scurry'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 Scurry.

Total Sites

117

within ~10 miles of Scurry

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Scurry

High1Moderate33Low83

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Kaufman
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7-Eleven 35769
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Aaa 01
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Aaa 2
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Borders & Long Oil
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Scurry, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 105 sites within ~10 miles of Scurry. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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 Scurry

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 Scurry average

Your land is one point inside Scurry

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

Scurry Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Scurry
  • One soil character for all of Scurry
  • Frost dates read at Scurry's scale: Feb 20 to Nov 27

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Scurry

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Scurry averages 280Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Scurry

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 Kaufman 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 Scurry

When does frost risk typically end in Scurry?

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

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Scurry typically arrives around Nov 27, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 13, so the watching starts about Oct 28 — about 280 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Scurry?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Scurry sees about 280 frost-free days — roughly Feb 20 through Nov 27, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 13 to Nov 13, about 245 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Scurry?

The federal record around Scurry is a meaningful one — 117 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (105), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Scurry?

From about Oct 28 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 27 (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 27. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Scurry's scale — its 8b band and its 280-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Scurry'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 Scurry’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Scurry's own scale — the 1,279 acres it covers and 117 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Scurry's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 117 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Scurry, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Scurry's boundary and the 1,279 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~280-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Scurry's own centroid, the Texas Blackland PrairiesUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Scurry has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Kaufman County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Scurry's 1,279 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Kaufman County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Kaufman 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 Kaufman County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Scurry's 1,279 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Scurry you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,279 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Scurry-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address