What Grows in Hurricane, Utah

USDA Zones 8b · 34K acres

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

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Hurricane — the short answer

Hurricane, Utah: USDA zone 8b, about 291 days between hard freezes, across 34K acres of city.

USDA zone
8b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 10
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 28
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~291
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
34K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

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

Zone 8b is Hurricane's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hurricane's 291-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hurricane

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

Season length

Measured

Hurricane runs about 291 days between hard freezes — 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

Hurricane 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 Hurricane is in

Hurricane sits in the Mojave Basin and Range — EPA Level III, inside the wider North American Deserts. That is read at Hurricane's own centroid rather than borrowed from Washington County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hurricane

Every plant below cleared Hurricane's own zone 8b and its 291-day season. Each card opens that plant's Utah profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in UtahZones 2–11Hurricane's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Utah fig guideZones 6–10Hurricane's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in UtahZones 6–10Hurricane's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Utah growing notesZones 2–11Hurricane's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in UtahZones 7–10Hurricane's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Utah rosemary guideZones 8–10Hurricane's 8b is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Kale in UtahZones 2–11Hurricane's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pomegranate, photograph
Pomegranate: Utah growing notesZones 7–10Hurricane's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Growing lavender in UtahZones 5–8Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Utah lentil guideZones 2–11Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~70 it needs.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in UtahZones 5–10Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Okra: Utah growing notesZones 2–12Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~50 it needs.
almond, photograph
Growing almond in UtahZones 5–9Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Utah potato guideZones 2–11Hurricane's 8b — 6 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in UtahZones 3–11Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Utah growing notesZones 3–10Hurricane's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in UtahZones 2–11Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Utah apache plume guideZones 5–11Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in UtahZones 3–8Hurricane's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Utah growing notesZones 3–8Hurricane's 8b — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in UtahHurricane's 291 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Utah holly guideZones 5–11Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in UtahZones 7–10Hurricane's 8b — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Utah growing notesZones 6–8Hurricane's 8b — 2 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in UtahZones 5–11Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pearl millet, photograph
Utah pearl millet guideZones 5–11Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~60 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in UtahZones 5–11Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Utah growing notesZones 4–10Hurricane's 8b — 4 zones of cold margin.
phacelia, photograph
Growing phacelia in UtahZones 2–11Hurricane's 291 days clear the ~100 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Utah liriope guideZones 5–11Hurricane's 8b — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hurricane?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 13; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 10 (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. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.

What's on the federal record near Hurricane

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

  1. (C-42-13) 7ccc- 1Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  2. (C-42-13) 6cad- 2Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  3. (C-42-13)18bcb- 2Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  4. (C-42-13) 6cad- 1Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  5. (C-42-14)12dcc- 1 WD19-ShallowNitrate · 1.0 mi
  6. (C-42-14)12dcc- 2 WD20-DeepNitrate · 1.0 mi
  7. (C-42-14)13acd- 2 WD-4Nitrate · 1.2 mi
  8. (C-42-14)13acc- 1 WD-21Nitrate · 1.3 mi
  9. MAVERIK #402Underground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi
  10. (C-42-14)13dca- 4Nitrate · 1.5 mi
  11. (C-42-14)13dca- 5Nitrate · 1.5 mi
  12. (C-42-14)13dca- 9Nitrate · 1.5 mi

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

Measured from Hurricane'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 Hurricane.

Total Sites

269

within ~10 miles of Hurricane

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

3 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hurricane

High2Moderate217Low50

Highest-Severity Sites

La Verkin City Water System
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Washington City
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
(C-40-13)27bdb- 2
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
(C-40-13)27bdb- 2
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
(C-40-13)28dbc- 1
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hurricane, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Hurricane — Mining (53 sites) and Nitrate (130 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.

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

Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.

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 Hurricane

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 Hurricane average

Your land is one point inside Hurricane

Everything above resolves to Hurricane as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 34K acres. 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 Hurricane Average

Hurricane Average

  • USDA Zones 8b, averaged across Hurricane
  • One soil character for all of Hurricane
  • Frost dates read at Hurricane's scale: Feb 10 to Nov 28

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hurricane

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hurricane averages 291Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Hurricane

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 Hurricane’s own record; 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 Hurricane

When does frost risk typically end in Hurricane?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hurricane typically lands around Feb 10, 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 3.

When is the first frost in Hurricane?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hurricane 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 291 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hurricane?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hurricane sees about 291 frost-free days — roughly Feb 10 through Nov 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 3 to Nov 14, about 256 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hurricane?

The federal record around Hurricane is a meaningful one — 269 documented sites, mostly Nitrate entries (130), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.6 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 Hurricane?

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 Hurricane's scale — its 8b band and its 291-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hurricane'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 Hurricane’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Hurricane's own scale — its own ~291-day season between 28°F freezes, the 33,756 acres it covers and 269 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hurricane's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Hurricane's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Feb 10 and Nov 28 and the ~291-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 269 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hurricane, the closest Nitrate record about 0.6 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hurricane's boundary and the 33,756 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8b and a ~291-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Hurricane's own centroid, the Mojave Basin and RangeUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Hurricane's 33,756 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Washington County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Washington County
  • The growing challenges every Utah grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Utah
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Washington County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hurricane's 33,756 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Hurricane you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 33,756 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.6 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 Hurricane-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address