USDA hardiness zone
Zone 7b
Rolled up from the 3,896 ZIP codes in our data that are classified zone 7b, covering 5,359 nurseries and garden centers across 991 cities we track in this zone.
Average minimum winter temperature
5°F
Last spring frost range
Mar 5–Jun 10
First fall frost range
Sep 11–Dec 3
Average frost-free growing season
210 days
Average monthly temperature
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36.1° | 39.1° | 46.6° | 56.1° | 65° | 73.5° | 78° | 76.6° | 69.8° | 58.5° | 47.8° | 39.6° |
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 Mar 5–Jun 10. 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.
Hardy (49)
- Apple (bare-root fruit tree)
- Apricot (bare-root fruit tree)
- Asparagus
- Bachelor's Button (Cornflower)
- Bare-root rose
- Blackberry
- Blueberry
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Calendula
- Catnip/Catmint
- Cherry (sweet/tart, bare-root fruit tree)
- Chives
- Collards
- Currant
- Deciduous shade tree (generic, e.g. maple/oak, bare-root or B&B)
- Elderberry
- Evergreen shrub (B&B/potted, e.g. arborvitae, boxwood)
- Flowering deciduous shrub (generic, e.g. lilac/forsythia)
- Garden Peas
- Garlic
- Gooseberry
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Larkspur
- Lavender
- Lettuce
- Mint
- Onion (bulb)
- Oregano
- Peach (bare-root fruit tree)
- Pear (bare-root fruit tree)
- Plum (bare-root fruit tree)
- Radish
- Raspberry
- Rhubarb
- Rutabaga
- Sage
- Snapdragon
- Snow Peas
- Spinach
- Strawberry
- Sweet Alyssum
- Sweet Pea
- Table/Bunch Grape
- Tarragon
- Thyme
- Turnip
Semi-hardy (16)
Tender (20)
Zone 7b means an average annual extreme minimum winter temperature of 5°F to 10°F on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA/ARS with the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University, 1991-2020 records). Every ZIP here carries its zone matched by centroid against the map, not by its polygon boundary, via phzmapi.org's ZIP-level derivation.
The growing season shown above averages long enough to run a spring crop, a summer crop, and a fall crop back to back across most of this zone's own ZIPs, which is the real practical payoff of a milder winter number: more calendar to work with, not just an easier January.
We track nurseries across 23 states in zone 7b, more than any other zone we cover, from Alabama to Wisconsin, with Knoxville, TN carrying the most, followed by Nashville and McMinnville, TN. This zone is also this directory's own representative for the temperate band on the monthly planting guides.
Cities we track in zone 7b
- McMinnville, TN (165)
- Knoxville, TN (128)
- Nashville, TN (116)
- Brooklyn, NY (74)
- Richmond, VA (70)
- Oklahoma City, OK (69)
- Baltimore, MD (69)
- Murfreesboro, TN (64)
- Clarksville, TN (57)
- Albuquerque, NM (56)
- Franklin, TN (51)
- Smithville, TN (49)
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).