What are the US growing zones?
James Stevens
Updated on March 01, 2026
The USDA Hardiness Zone Map divides North America into 11 separate planting zones; each growing zone is 10°F warmer (or colder) in an average winter than the adjacent zone. If you see a hardiness zone in a gardening catalog or plant description, chances are it refers to this USDA map.
What are zones 9 and 10 in the United States?
Zones 9, 10 and 11 encompass the deep southern half of the country and the western coastal margins. The middle zones 6, 7, and 8 cover the middle portion of the mainland, and the colder zones 2-5 include the northern part of the central interior.
Where is zone 8 in the United States?
USDA Zone 8 covers most of the Pacific Northwest and a great swath of the American South, including Texas and Florida.
Where is Zone 5 in the United States?
Zone 5 is one of 13 USDA Hardiness Zones (United States Department of Agriculture). Each zone is divided into two subsets. Zone 5 subsets are 5a and 5b….Zone 5 States.
| Alaska | Kansas |
|---|---|
| California | Maine |
| Colorado | Maryland |
| Connecticut | Massachusetts |
Where is Zones 10 and 11?
In the United States, most of the warmer zones (zones 9, 10, and 11) are located in the deep southern half of the country and on the southern coastal margins. Higher zones can be found in Hawaii (up to 12) and Puerto Rico (up to 13).
What are the growing zones in the US?
Planting Zones in the U.S. A planting zone in the United States usually refers to one of the USDA horticultural planting zones which, according to the USDA, “divides the United States and southern Canada into 11 areas of 10 degree F differences in the average annual minimum temperature.”.
What planting zone do I live in?
Look for a plant’s hardiness zone on plant tags and online. Because the zone number increases the further south you go, choose plants that are your zone and lower. For example, if you live in Zone 6, choose plants that are winter hardy to zones 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2.
When can I plant in zone 7b?
The earliest that you can plant beets in Zone 7b is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don’t want to take any chances. The last month that you can plant beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to grow to maturity.
What grows in zone 8b?
Suitable desert landscape plants for zone 8b include fishhook cactus (Echinocactus setispinus), Bailey’s lace cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii v. baileyii), and miniature century plant (Agave toumeyana v. bella), and Sedum (kamtschaticum var.
