Wisconsin spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-5b, with a growing season of about 150 frost-free days — a true four-season rhythm: spring greens, a full summer main crop, and a fall window that rewards planning.
The growing year is built on 28-34 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 2,700 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,650 winter chill hours for tree fruit, and every crop choice answers to them. The ground itself runs to silt loam, clay loam, sandy outwash, and muck; drainage character, more than fertility, is usually what sorts the thrivers from the strugglers. Well-matched crops include cranberry, cherry, potato, and ginseng, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Wisconsin spans zones 3b-5b, 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 Wisconsin — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
3b-5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 25 - May 25
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Sep 15 - Oct 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
28-34 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Wisconsin. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Wisconsin — 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
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.
No verified open-license photo yet — this loam is close kin to the loam and silt-loam profiles above.
Drainage
Slow to moderate. Water lingers in the root zone longer than in loam, which is a gift in dry summers and a challenge in wet springs.
What thrives
Heavy feeders that appreciate steady moisture — brassicas, corn, beans, and many fruit trees. Perennials with strong root systems establish well once they are through the first season.
See the glacial-outwash profile — sandy outwash is the same meltwater-sorted sand and gravel.
Drainage
Very fast, often to considerable depth — outwash rarely holds a puddle.
What thrives
Potatoes are the classic outwash crop, along with carrots, asparagus, and bush fruits. Pines and oaks dominate the native cover for the same reason: they handle the droughtiness.
Drainage
It holds water like a sponge by nature; farmed muck is managed with ditches and water control, and it can dry, shrink, and even blow when left bare.
What thrives
Muck is celebrated vegetable ground — onions, celery, carrots, lettuce, and greens grow to prize quality in it. Its loose, black tilth is what root and leaf crops dream of.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 13, with the middle half of counties between Apr 10 and Apr 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 28 and Nov 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.
The plants Wisconsin put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Wood violet
Viola sororia
Designated 1949.
Acer saccharum
Designated 1949. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Wisconsin — 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 Wisconsin’s USDA zones 3b-5b 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.
Cold winters (-30F in northern WI)
Plant perennials rated for the cold you actually get — northern Wisconsin rewards zone honesty with decades of returns.
Short growing season (110-140 frost-free days)
Indoor starts plus a cold frame stretch the season on both ends — standard practice from Madison to Superior.
Sandy central soils drain too quickly
The Central Sands fix is organic matter — compost and cover crops, every year, until the ground holds its own water.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Wisconsin, the UW–Madison Division of Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Wisconsin — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Wisconsin — 57,912 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 314 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
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
Wisconsin spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-5b, 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 Wisconsin, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 13, with the middle half of counties between Apr 10 and Apr 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 28 and Nov 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.
Across Wisconsin, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Apr 10 and Apr 19, with a county median near Apr 13 (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 Wisconsin's counties mostly run about 191 to 210 days, with a county median near 203 (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.
Wisconsin's zones 3b-5b support a wide range — strong performers include Cranberry, Cherry, Potato, Ginseng, and Sugar Maple. 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, Wisconsin spans USDA zones 3b-5b (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 Wisconsin runs heavier than most — 57,912 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. Wisconsin spans USDA zones 3b-5b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Apr 10 to Apr 19 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 57,912 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin.
Wisconsin shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
