What Grows in Queets, Washington

USDA Zones 9a · 892 acres

Queets, Washington, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

On paper, artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Queets — the short answer

Queets, Washington: USDA zone 9a, about 256 days between hard freezes, across 892 acres of town.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 9
Grays Harbor County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 20
Grays Harbor County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~256
Grays Harbor County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
892 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 Grays Harbor County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9a9a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9a is Queets's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Queets's 256-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Queets

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

Season length

From county records

Queets runs about 256 days between hard freezes (read from Grays Harbor County, the closest normal to Queets) — a long growing season.

There is slack for succession plantings and slow-finishing crops: many vegetables can be sown twice, and the heat-lovers have time to ripen fully.

Plan a second sowing of quick crops after the first comes out, and use the fall window most gardeners let sit idle.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Queets sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a.

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 Queets is in

Queets sits in the Coast Range — EPA Level III, inside the wider Marine West Coast Forest. That is read at Queets's own centroid rather than borrowed from Grays Harbor County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Queets

Every plant below cleared Queets's own zone 9a and its 256-day season. Each card opens that plant's Washington profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in WashingtonZones 7–11Queets's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Washington fig guideZones 6–10Queets's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in WashingtonZones 6–10Queets's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Washington growing notesZones 2–11Queets's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in WashingtonZones 9–11Queets's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Washington rosemary guideZones 8–10Queets's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in WashingtonZones 2–11Queets's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Washington growing notesZones 9–11Queets's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in WashingtonQueets's 256 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Washington kale guideZones 2–11Queets's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in WashingtonZones 2–11Queets's 256 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Washington growing notesZones 2–12Queets's 256 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in WashingtonZones 2–11Queets's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Washington pumpkin guideZones 3–11Queets's 256 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in WashingtonZones 2–11Queets's 256 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Washington growing notesZones 3–10Queets's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in WashingtonZones 2–11Queets's 256 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Washington apache plume guideZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in WashingtonZones 7–11Queets's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Washington growing notesZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in WashingtonQueets's 256 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Washington holly guideZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in WashingtonZones 7–10Queets's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Washington growing notesZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in WashingtonZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Washington crab grass guideZones 7–11Queets's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in WashingtonZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Washington growing notesZones 4–10Queets's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in WashingtonZones 7–11Queets's 256 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Washington liriope guideZones 5–11Queets's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Queets?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 9; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 9 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 20 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. There is slack in a calendar like this — late plantings, second rounds of favorites, and a fall bench that keeps beds working.

What's on the federal record near Queets

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

  1. FRED B MOE LOGGING CLEARWATER SHOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  2. KALALOCH RANGER STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.1 mi
  3. 24N/13W-03L01Nitrate · 6.3 mi

Measured from Queets'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 Queets.

Total Sites

4

within ~10 miles of Queets

Risk Level

Low

Highest-severity

2 nitrate monitoring sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Queets

High0Moderate2Low2

Know Before You Grow

  • On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Queets

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 Queets average

Your land is one point inside Queets

Everything above resolves to Queets as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 892 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Grays Harbor 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 Queets Average

Queets Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Queets
  • One soil character for all of Queets
  • Frost dates read at Queets's scale: Mar 9 to Nov 20

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Queets

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Queets averages 256Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Queets

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 Grays Harbor 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 Queets

When does frost risk typically end in Queets?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Queets typically lands around Mar 9, 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 30.

When is the first frost in Queets?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Queets typically arrives around Nov 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 6, so the watching starts about Oct 21 — about 256 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Queets?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Queets sees about 256 frost-free days — roughly Mar 9 through Nov 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 30 to Nov 6, about 221 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Queets?

The federal record around Queets is light — 4 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Nitrate entries (2), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 4.2 miles out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Queets?

From about Oct 21 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 20 (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 20. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Queets's scale — its 9a band and its 256-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Queets'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 Queets’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Queets's own scale — the 892 acres it covers and 4 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Queets's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 4 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Queets, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 4.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Queets's boundary and the 892 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~256-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Queets's own centroid, the Coast RangeUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Queets has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Grays Harbor County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Queets's 892 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Grays Harbor County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Grays Harbor County
  • The growing challenges every Washington grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Washington
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Grays Harbor County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Queets's 892 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Queets you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 892 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 4.2 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 Queets-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address