Virginia spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-8a, with a growing season of about 220 frost-free days — time enough for slow-finishing crops, second sowings, and a genuine fall garden.
Taken together, 36-50 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,850 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,050 winter chill hours for tree fruit draw the line between what thrives here and what merely survives. The dominant soils run to red clay (Piedmont), silt loam, sandy loam (Tidewater), and mountain loam, and their drainage is one of the strongest predictors of which crops take hold and which falter. Virginia splits into distinct growing country: Appalachia, Piedmont, and Tidewater & Chesapeake, each keeping its own frost calendar. Expect tomato, grape, peanut, and dogwood to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Virginia spans zones 5b-8a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Virginia — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
5b-8a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Mar 20 - May 10
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Oct 1 - Nov 10
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
36-50 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Virginia. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Virginia — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Slow. Red clay seals under pounding rain and sheds water across the surface, then holds tight to what soaks in.
What thrives
Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, and muscadines are traditional red-clay performers, and many fruit trees root deep into it once through the first year. Azaleas and blueberries appreciate its typical acidity.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
Drainage
Fast. The sand fraction opens the soil up, so water moves through the root zone quickly and the surface rarely stays soggy. The trade is that nutrients ride out with the water.
What thrives
Root crops love it — carrots, potatoes, radishes, and onions size up cleanly in ground they can push through. Melons, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and most herbs appreciate the warmth and the drainage.
No single photo represents mountain loam honestly — it changes bench to bench. See the loam profile above for the base texture.
Drainage
Usually good to fast, because slopes shed water and the rock fraction keeps the profile open. South-facing ground dries markedly faster than north-facing.
What thrives
Cool-season vegetables, berries, and hardy perennials suited to the elevation. Short seasons matter more than the soil here — choose varieties bred for quick maturity.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Virginia's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Across Virginia, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 6, with the middle half of counties between Feb 27 and Mar 12 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 25 and Dec 12 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With almost year-round growing weather, timing is about heat and rainfall more than frost — some bench is always in play.
The plants Virginia put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Cornus florida
Designated 1918. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Cornus florida
Designated 1956. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Virginia — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Virginia’s USDA zones 5b-8a but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Heavy Piedmont red clay requires amendment
Red clay turns from obstacle to asset with compost and time — and a raised bed lets you harvest while it happens.
Humidity and heat in summer promote disease
Space for airflow, water mornings at the base, and plant resistant varieties — your extension's humid-summer playbook.
Deer pressure is heavy in suburban and rural areas
A proper fence settles it; outside the fence, genuinely deer-resistant plants are the next best defense.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Virginia, the Virginia Cooperative Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Virginia — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Virginia — 37,636 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 164 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Virginia carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Virginia
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Virginia, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 24,515 sites nearby. 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.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Virginia spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-8a, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Across Virginia, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 6, with the middle half of counties between Feb 27 and Mar 12 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 25 and Dec 12 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With almost year-round growing weather, timing is about heat and rainfall more than frost — some bench is always in play.
Across Virginia, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Feb 27 and Mar 12, with a county median near Mar 6 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Virginia's counties mostly run about 257 to 285 days, with a county median near 272 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Virginia's zones 5b-8a support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Grape, Peanut, Dogwood, and Apple. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Virginia spans USDA zones 5b-8a (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Virginia runs heavier than most — 37,636 documented sites — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. Virginia spans USDA zones 5b-8a, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Feb 27 to Mar 12 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 37,636 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a Virginia average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Virginia.
Virginia shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
