Skip to content
PlantNurseryHQ

← Growing zone lookup

USDA hardiness zone

Zone 1b

Rolled up from the 11 ZIP codes in our data that are classified zone 1b, covering 0 nurseries and garden centers across 0 cities we track in this zone.

Average minimum winter temperature

-55°F

Last spring frost range

May 18–Jun 3

First fall frost range

Aug 23–Sep 8

Average frost-free growing season

93 days

Average monthly temperature

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
-9.9° -1.5° 6.7° 27.9° 46.1° 57.9° 59.9° 53.6° 42.5° 24° 2.8° -5.8°

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, averaged across this zone's member ZIPs.

Crops by frost hardiness

What grows here, and when

This zone's own last-frost dates range across May 18–Jun 3. Hardy and semi-hardy crops can go in before that date; tender and very-tender crops need to wait until after it. See each crop's own guide for exact windows at a specific location in this zone.

Planting windows and crop timing here are computed from USDA/NOAA climate data and the university extension sources cited below, not a site visit or soil test. Treat this as a starting point: local conditions vary, and a local nursery or extension office can advise on your exact site. See our full Disclaimer.

Find your exact zone by ZIP →

Zone 1b means an average annual extreme minimum winter temperature of -55°F to -50°F on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, built by USDA/ARS with the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University from 1991-2020 records. USDA publishes no official ZIP-code lookup for that map; every ZIP behind this rollup carries its zone matched by centroid against the map, not by its polygon boundary, through phzmapi.org's ZIP-level derivation.

The frost and season figures above are real spreads across this zone's own ZIPs, not rounding noise. At a winter this cold, the number that matters most for a gardener is the growing-season length shown above, not the exact frost date either side of it: a season this short leaves room for one crop cycle a year, not two, and only for crops whose maturity window fits inside it. Zone 1b tells you about winter cold alone; it says nothing about summer heat, rainfall, or day length.

We hold zero nurseries with a ZIP in zone 1b. Every ZIP in this band sits in Alaska.

Nearby zones

All zones

USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map (zone boundaries, via the phzmapi.org ZIP-level derivation) and NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals (frost dates, growing season, monthly temperatures).