Alaska
Planting zones in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska
This census area spans USDA zones 6b to 8a, so there is no single zone for Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 50% of its ZIP codes are zone 8a; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska as a whole. Hardiness zones and freeze dates are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact — enter it and this page will tell you your zone, which NOAA station it comes from and how far away that station is.
The growing season in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area is closing
Nothing in the 32-crop table still has time to mature here. The first fall freeze normally arrives October 11 – November 5 across the 7 NOAA stations serving this census area .
Your next season already has a date
The first job of it is 🧅 Green Onions, start indoors, around February 17 – March 9 — counted back from a last spring freeze of April 14 – May 4 here.
These are ranges across the whole census area. The ZIP lookup above gives the dates from your own nearest station instead.
All 7 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 7 NOAA stations serving this census area counts May 4 – October 11 as growing season (160 days). Widening to any single station gives April 14 – November 5 (205 days).
That is a 45-day difference inside one census area — which is why this page gives ranges rather than a single planting date. The ZIP lookup above resolves it to one station.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area covers 3 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the census area one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — fine for the 50% in zone 8a and wrong for the other 50%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8a | 5 | 50% | |
| 7b | 4 | 40% | |
| 6b | 1 | 10% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the census area's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Across the 7 NOAA stations serving this census area. These are medians — half of years freeze later than the date shown — so treat the later end of each range as the cautious one.
The growing season runs 157–201 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 59.1–67.1 °F in June–August. Summer rain over the same months runs 14.5–29.6" across those 7 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. At the middle station that is covered, so watering in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area is for the gaps between storms rather than the whole season. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 63 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
Every ZIP code in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per census area, so this is the exact answer rather than the census area's average. The station column is the nearest one to that ZIP code's centroid and how far away it is — the same figure the tools use, shown here so you can see which ZIP codes are well covered and which are reaching.
| ZIP code | USDA zone | Nearest NOAA station | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99830 | 7b | Pt Baker, AK | 54.7 km |
| 99836 | 8a | Port Alexander, AK | 0.5 km |
| 99918 | 8a | Thorne Bay, AK | 27.2 km |
| 99919 | 7b | Thorne Bay, AK | 5.4 km |
| 99921 | 7b | Thorne Bay, AK | 22.5 km |
| 99922 | 8a | Craig, AK | 19.8 km |
| 99923 | 6b | Hyder, AK | 9.4 km |
| 99925 | 7b | Klawock AP, AK | 8.8 km |
| 99926 | 8a | Metlakatla 6 S, AK | 12.7 km |
| 99927 | 8a | Pt Baker, AK | 2.5 km |
ZIP-code positions are area centroids, so a large rural ZIP code's listed distance is measured from the middle of its area rather than from any particular address in it.
When to start seeds in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Every date below is anchored on the last spring freeze at each station and reported as a range across all 7 of them, because no one station speaks for the census area.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🧅 Green Onions | Start indoors | February 17 – March 9 | 8 wk before |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Start indoors | February 17 – March 9 | 8 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🫛 Peas | Direct sow | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Spinach | Direct sow | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Start indoors | March 3 – March 23 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Start indoors | March 10 – March 30 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Start indoors | March 10 – March 30 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Start indoors | March 10 – March 30 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Arugula | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🥕 Beets | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🌶️ Okra | Start indoors | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🌱 Radishes | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🥔 Turnips | Direct sow | March 17 – April 6 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Set out | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥕 Carrots | Direct sow | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Direct sow | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Set out | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Set out | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Direct sow | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Set out | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Set out | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Start indoors | March 24 – April 13 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Set out | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Set out | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Cilantro | Direct sow | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Set out | March 31 – April 20 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Dill | Direct sow | April 7 – April 27 | 1 wk before |
| 🫘 Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Direct sow | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Set out | April 21 – May 11 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Direct sow | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Set out | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Set out | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
| 🫘 Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Set out | April 28 – May 18 | 2 wk after |
Offsets are published guidance; the dates they land on are computed from measured NOAA normals. The seed-starting tool does this for your own ZIP code and counts the days.
What survives the winter changes across Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Zone 8a carries 57 of 74 perennial edibles; zone 6b carries 51. The best number is not always the warmest zone — the count peaks in the middle and falls both ways, because the warm end loses plants to insufficient winter chill and summer heat, not to cold.
Hardiness ranges are a judgement, published by growers rather than measured; the zone they are compared against is measured. On a warm-end verdict, check with your local extension service — a coastal zone 8 and an inland zone 8 are not the same summer.
Cautious — shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic
- Last spring freeze
- Plan to May 23 to be careful. Median April 14 – May 4 across 7 stations; March 30 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to October 1 to be careful. Median October 11 – November 5 across 7 stations; November 25 is the optimistic end.
NOAA publishes these as probabilities, not averages — the middle figure is a median, so half of years fall either side of it. The cautious end is the 10% tail: in roughly nine years in ten the freeze falls on the safe side of it.
The 7 stations behind these numbers
All 7 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 145 km north to south. Every one is named with its identifier in the station list below — this page does not single one out, because no one station speaks for a whole census area.
A relative sketch, not a map with a projection: longitude is adjusted for latitude so the shape is not stretched, and there is no basemap. For the one station nearest a specific address, with its real distance, use the ZIP lookup above.
These are the stations this census area's ZIP codes actually cite as nearest — not a claim that each one sits inside its boundary, since a rural ZIP legitimately reaches over it. Every figure above comes from them, and each is named so you can check it.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig, AK | USC00502227 | April 14 | November 1 | 201 days |
| Hyder, AK | USC00503821 | May 4 | October 11 | 157 days |
| Klawock AP, AK | USW00025367 | April 29 | October 16 | 169 days |
| Metlakatla 6 S, AK | USW00025381 | April 14 | October 25 | 192 days |
| Port Alexander, AK | USC00507557 | April 18 | November 5 | 198 days |
| Pt Baker, AK | USC00507421 | April 19 | October 25 | 187 days |
| Thorne Bay, AK | USC00509148 | May 1 | October 13 | 166 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Your own ZIP
Work out your own dates
This page describes a whole census area. Every tool below answers for one ZIP code, which is the grain the underlying data is published at.
Other places to compare
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area sits in Alaska. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other census area in it with a page here.
More of Alaska
Gear
If you want to act on this
Each link opens an Amazon search rather than a product we picked. We have not tested these and do not rank them — the search is the honest version, and you choose.
- Row cover and frost clothThe season here closes at the first fall freeze dated above — a cover buys back some of those days at the end.
- MulchFor the perennials nearest their cold limit in zone 6b, where an insulated crown is what decides whether they come back.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. That costs you nothing extra, and it buys no influence over anything on this site: the dates come from NOAA normals and the zones from the USDA, and no product affects either.
Sources
Where these numbers come from
Hardiness zones are the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. Freeze dates and growing-season lengths are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, taken per station and cited above by name and NOAA ID.
County boundaries come from the Census ZCTA-to-county relation, which is what places each ZIP code — and which treats parishes, boroughs and census areas as county equivalents. No station is chosen to represent this census area: every range above is taken across all of them and the count is stated, because picking one would be a judgement dressed as a measurement.