What is My Growing Zone

Enter Your Zip Code to Find Your Growing Zone

Use your ZIP code to find your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone. Your zone is a starting point for choosing perennial plants that are likely to tolerate your area’s average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

What Are USDA Plant Hardiness Zones?

Plant hardiness zones—also known as growing zones or planting zones—are published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). They are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature recorded over a 30-year period.

The USDA system divides the United States into Zones 1 through 13, with each zone covering a 10°F range and each “a” or “b” subzone covering 5°F. The map helps gardeners compare the winter cold tolerance of perennials, shrubs, and trees. Some perennials may also be grown as annuals outside their winter-hardiness range.

Hardiness zones do not describe summer heat, rainfall, frost dates, soil, or local microclimates, so consider those conditions separately when choosing plants.

Why Growing Zones Matter

If you've ever wondered, "What agricultural zone am I in?" or searched for planting zones by zip code, this is where to start. Having this information can help you:

• Compare a plant’s winter cold tolerance with local conditions
• Identify when extra winter protection may be needed
• Increase long-term plant survival
• Plan ahead using reliable climate data
• Adapt to changes in local weather and climate
• Save you time, money, and effort

Shop by Growing Zone

Choose from regionally appropriate trees, seeds, and plants:

• Shop for Plants in USDA Zones 1–4 – Cold-hardy varieties
• Shop for Plants in USDA Zones 5–7 – Best for temperate regions
• Shop for Plants in USDA Zones 8–11 – Great for warm and dry climates
• Shop for Plants in All USDA Zones – Browse everything by zone

How to Use a Growing Zone Map

A USDA hardiness zone map or growing zone map helps you identify your zone using historical temperature data.

• Enter your zip code: Use the tool above to enter your zip code and view the growing zone by zip code
• Check your zone designation: Each zone is a 10°F range of average minimum temperatures
• Use subzones like 6a or 7b for greater accuracy (each subzone represents a 5°F temperature difference)
• Check frost dates separately: First and last frost dates help plan the growing season but are not provided by the hardiness-zone designation
• Account for microclimates: Urban areas, slopes, shade, and wind can all slightly shift growing conditions

Gardening Tips by USDA Zone

Cold Zones (1–5): These zones face long winters, deep freezes, and short growing seasons.

What to Do:

• Choose Hardy Plants: Select plants bred for extreme cold. Many types of perennials can also be grown as annuals in these colder regions.
• Use Insulating Techniques: Mulch heavily, use cloches or cold frames, and install windbreaks to reduce winter damage.
• Grow Season Extenders: Using frost cloth and greenhouses helps to shield plants against extreme temperatures as well. 

Moderate Zones (6–8): These areas enjoy more balanced climates with moderate winters and extended growing seasons.

What to Do:

• Diversify Your Garden: These milder winter zones enable you to grow a much wider variety of plants. Diversifying your garden with more species of plants also helps it support more pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife. 
• Watch for Late Frosts: Protect budding shrubs and trees from cold damages with frost blankets or covers.
• Year-Round Composting: Take advantage of milder winters to maintain active compost piles and healthy soil.

Warm Zones (9–13): These regions have mild winters and long, hot summers, with limited or no frost. Gardeners in these areas can enjoy extended growing seasons and even year-round gardening with the right plant choices and care.

What to Do:

• Choose Heat-Loving Plants: Grow summer favorites like Zinnias, Agastache, and Cosmos, that love sun and warmth.
• Manage Water Wisely: Use mulch, drip irrigation, and water early in the morning to minimize evaporation.
• Provide Shade: Use shade cloths, trellises, and companion planting to shield heat-sensitive crops during peak sun hours.
• Grow in Winter: Take advantage of mild winters to grow winter-blooming plants such as Violas (Pansy).

Gardening Year-Round by Zone

Your USDA zone is a key tool in planning not just what to grow, but also when and how to grow it for year-round success.

Zone Map Updates and Changing Conditions

The USDA periodically updates the Plant Hardiness Zone Map as newer temperature records, mapping methods, and weather-station data become available. The 2023 map is generally warmer than the 2012 edition, but a zone designation remains a guide to average extreme winter cold rather than a complete forecast of future garden conditions.

How to Respond as a Gardener:

• Use the current map: Check your location against the USDA’s 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map and review future map updates when they are released.
• Select Resilient Plants: Incorporate varieties that are both heat-loving and drought-tolerant. Native plants and Mediterranean-style perennials like lavender.
• Leverage Microclimates: Urban areas, walls, slopes, and windbreaks can create pockets where you can grow plants normally outside your USDA zone.
• Monitor local conditions: Track frost dates, heat events, rainfall, bloom times, and pest activity. A garden journal can help reveal patterns that a national zone map cannot show.

Use the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map as one part of your plant-selection process.

Combine your zone with local frost dates, summer temperatures, sunlight, water availability, soil drainage, and site-specific microclimates. Together, these factors provide a more useful picture of how a plant may perform in your garden.