Delaware
Planting zones in Sussex County, Delaware
This county spans USDA zones 7b to 8a, so there is no single zone for Sussex County and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 82% of its ZIP codes are zone 7b; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Sussex County, Delaware 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.
What you can sow in Sussex County now
4 of 32 crops that every one of the 5 NOAA stations serving this county agrees still has time to mature — with a week in hand, so this holds until the page is next rebuilt.
- 🌱 Radishes 28d
- 🥬 Arugula 35d
- 🥬 Spinach 40d
- 🥬 Mustard Greens 40d
Counted against a first fall freeze of October 30 – November 14 across 5 of those stations, NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
A further 7 crops depend on where in Sussex County you are — its stations disagree about them. The ZIP lookup above settles it for one address.
All 5 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 5 NOAA stations serving this county counts April 11 – October 30 as growing season (202 days). Widening to any single station gives March 29 – November 14 (230 days).
That is a 28-day difference inside one county — 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
Sussex County covers 2 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the county one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — fine for the 82% in zone 7b and wrong for the other 18%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7b | 18 | 82% | |
| 8a | 4 | 18% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the county's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Across the 5 NOAA stations serving this county. 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 200–231 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 82–86 °F in June–August. Summer rain over the same months runs 10.9–14.2" across those 5 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. The middle station covers about 97% of it, so expect to make up the rest. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 86 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
Every ZIP code in Sussex County
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per county, so this is the exact answer rather than the county'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19930 | 8a | Lewes, DE | 26.9 km |
| 19931 | 7b | Salisbury 2N, MD | 18.0 km |
| 19933 | 7b | Greenwood 2Ne, DE | 9.5 km |
| 19939 | 7b | Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | 18.8 km |
| 19940 | 7b | Salisbury 2N, MD | 8.1 km |
| 19941 | 7b | Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | 13.0 km |
| 19944 | 8a | Ocean City Muni AP, MD | 19.8 km |
| 19945 | 7b | Ocean City Muni AP, MD | 23.0 km |
| 19947 | 7b | Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | 4.5 km |
| 19950 | 7b | Greenwood 2Ne, DE | 1.8 km |
| 19951 | 7b | Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | 9.0 km |
| 19956 | 7b | Salisbury 2N, MD | 16.2 km |
| 19958 | 7b | Lewes, DE | 6.2 km |
| 19960 | 7b | Greenwood 2Ne, DE | 15.0 km |
| 19963 | 7b | Greenwood 2Ne, DE | 23.3 km |
| 19966 | 7b | Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | 14.1 km |
| 19967 | 7b | Ocean City Muni AP, MD | 25.7 km |
| 19968 | 7b | Lewes, DE | 10.5 km |
| 19970 | 8a | Lewes, DE | 26.0 km |
| 19971 | 8a | Lewes, DE | 11.2 km |
| 19973 | 7b | Greenwood 2Ne, DE | 20.6 km |
| 19975 | 7b | Ocean City Muni AP, MD | 18.3 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 Sussex County
Every date below is anchored on the last spring freeze at each station and reported as a range across all 5 of them, because no one station speaks for the county.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🧅 Green Onions | Start indoors | February 1 – February 14 | 8 wk before |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Start indoors | February 1 – February 14 | 8 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🫛 Peas | Direct sow | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Spinach | Direct sow | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Start indoors | February 15 – February 28 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Start indoors | February 22 – March 7 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Start indoors | February 22 – March 7 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Start indoors | February 22 – March 7 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Arugula | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🥕 Beets | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🌶️ Okra | Start indoors | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🌱 Radishes | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🥔 Turnips | Direct sow | March 1 – March 14 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Set out | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥕 Carrots | Direct sow | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Direct sow | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Set out | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Set out | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Direct sow | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Set out | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Set out | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Start indoors | March 8 – March 21 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Set out | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Set out | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Cilantro | Direct sow | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Set out | March 15 – March 28 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Dill | Direct sow | March 22 – April 4 | 1 wk before |
| 🫘 Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Direct sow | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Set out | April 5 – April 18 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 12 – April 25 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Direct sow | April 12 – April 25 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Set out | April 12 – April 25 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Set out | April 12 – April 25 | 2 wk after |
| 🫘 Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 12 – April 25 | 2 wk after |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Set out | April 12 – April 25 | 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 Sussex County
Zone 8a carries 57 of 74 perennial edibles; zone 7b carries 56. 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 April 28 to be careful. Median March 29 – April 11 across 5 stations; March 13 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to October 14 to be careful. Median October 30 – November 14 across 5 stations; December 1 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 5 stations behind these numbers
All 5 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 56 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 county.
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 county'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown Sussex Co AP, DE | USW00013764 | April 4 | November 6 | 217 days |
| Greenwood 2Ne, DE | USC00073595 | April 11 | October 30 | 200 days |
| Lewes, DE | USC00075320 | March 29 | November 14 | 231 days |
| Ocean City Muni AP, MD | USW00093786 | April 7 | November 2 | 209 days |
| Salisbury 2N, MD | USC00188004 | April 2 | November 10 | 222 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 county. Every tool below answers for one ZIP code, which is the grain the underlying data is published at.
Other places to compare
Sussex County sits in Delaware. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other county in it with a page here.
Counties with the same zones — 7b–8a
Matched on the exact zone set, not a dominant zone, so the winter answer on these pages really is the same one as here.
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 7b, 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 county: 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.