What USDA hardiness zone is Talladega County, Alabama?

Every ZIP code in Talladega County, Alabama is USDA hardiness zone 8a, from the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

When is the last spring frost in Talladega County, Alabama?

The median last spring freeze runs March 23 – April 5 across the 5 NOAA weather stations serving Talladega County, Alabama, from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals. Half of years freeze later than the median.

Alabama

Planting zones in Talladega County, Alabama

Every ZIP code in this county is USDA zone 8a — so unlike most of the places people look up, there is one right answer here and it holds wherever you are in the county.

USDA zone 8a The same in all 10 ZIP codes

ZIP codes 10 10 have a NOAA station within range

Weather stations 5 NOAA 1991–2020 normals, across 737 sq mi

Your ZIP code

Get the exact answer for your address

Everything above describes Talladega County, Alabama 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 Talladega County is closing

Nothing in the 32-crop table still has time to mature here. The first fall freeze normally arrives October 31 – November 9 across the 5 NOAA stations serving this county .

Your next season already has a date

The first job of it is 🧅 Green Onions, start indoors, around January 26 – February 8 — counted back from a last spring freeze of March 23 – April 5 here.

Every spring date for your ZIP →

These are ranges across the whole county. The ZIP lookup above gives the dates from your own nearest station instead.

All 5 stations agreeAt least one station

Every one of the 5 NOAA stations serving this county counts April 5 – October 31 as growing season (209 days). Widening to any single station gives March 23 – November 9 (231 days).

That is a 22-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.

Your freeze dates

Last spring freeze March 23 – April 5

First fall freeze October 31 – November 9

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 208–231 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 89–92.1 °F in June–August. That is past the point where tomato and pepper pollen fails and cool-season greens bolt, so in this county heat decides as much as frost does. Summer rain over the same months runs 12.3–13.9" 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 99% 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 89 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.

Every ZIP code in Talladega 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
35014	8a	Childersburg Wtp, AL	10.9 km
35032	8a	Childersburg Wtp, AL	2.6 km
35044	8a	Childersburg Wtp, AL	2.9 km
35096	8a	Talladega 10 Nne, AL	7.1 km
35149	8a	Sylacauga 4 NE, AL	3.8 km
35150	8a	Sylacauga 4 NE, AL	3.5 km
35151	8a	Sylacauga 4 NE, AL	15.2 km
35160	8a	Talladega, AL	6.3 km
36260	8a	Talladega 10 Nne, AL	5.5 km
36268	8a	Anniston Metro AP, AL	12.3 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 Talladega 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	January 26 – February 8	8 wk before
🌶️ Peppers	Start indoors	January 26 – February 8	8 wk before
🥦 Broccoli	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Cabbage	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Collards	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Kale	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Leaf Lettuce	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🫛 Peas	Direct sow	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Spinach	Direct sow	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🍠 Sweet Potato	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🍅 Tomatoes	Start indoors	February 9 – February 22	6 wk before
🥬 Bok Choy	Start indoors	February 16 – March 1	5 wk before
🥬 Kohlrabi	Start indoors	February 16 – March 1	5 wk before
🥬 Swiss Chard	Start indoors	February 16 – March 1	5 wk before
🥬 Arugula	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🥬 Baby Salad Greens	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🥕 Beets	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🧅 Green Onions	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🥬 Mustard Greens	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🌶️ Okra	Start indoors	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🌱 Radishes	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🥔 Turnips	Direct sow	February 23 – March 8	4 wk before
🥬 Cabbage	Set out	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥕 Carrots	Direct sow	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Collards	Direct sow	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Collards	Set out	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥒 Cucumbers	Start indoors	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🧅 Green Onions	Set out	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Kale	Direct sow	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Kale	Set out	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Kohlrabi	Direct sow	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Kohlrabi	Set out	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Leaf Lettuce	Direct sow	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🎃 Pumpkins	Start indoors	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🎃 Summer Squash	Start indoors	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🎃 Winter Squash	Start indoors	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥒 Zucchini	Start indoors	March 2 – March 15	3 wk before
🥬 Bok Choy	Direct sow	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🥬 Bok Choy	Set out	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🥦 Broccoli	Set out	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🌿 Cilantro	Direct sow	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🥬 Leaf Lettuce	Set out	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🥬 Swiss Chard	Direct sow	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🥬 Swiss Chard	Set out	March 9 – March 22	2 wk before
🌿 Dill	Direct sow	March 16 – March 29	1 wk before
🫘 Bush Beans	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🥒 Cucumbers	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Pumpkins	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Pumpkins	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Summer Squash	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Summer Squash	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🌽 Sweet Corn	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🍅 Tomatoes	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Winter Squash	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🎃 Winter Squash	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🥒 Zucchini	Direct sow	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🥒 Zucchini	Set out	March 30 – April 12	1 wk after
🥒 Cucumbers	Direct sow	April 6 – April 19	2 wk after
🌶️ Okra	Direct sow	April 6 – April 19	2 wk after
🌶️ Okra	Set out	April 6 – April 19	2 wk after
🌶️ Peppers	Set out	April 6 – April 19	2 wk after
🫘 Southern Peas	Direct sow	April 6 – April 19	2 wk after
🍠 Sweet Potato	Set out	April 6 – April 19	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 lives through a zone 8a winter

Of 74 perennial edibles, 57 come through a zone 8a winter — and 8 fail here for being too warm rather than too cold, needing more winter chill than this county gets or more heat than they tolerate. Among the ones that work: Apple, Aronia, Elderberry, Summer Raspberry, Asparagus, Horseradish, Rhubarb, Sunchoke.

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 22 to be careful. Median March 23 – April 5 across 5 stations; March 1 is the optimistic end.
First fall freeze: Plan to October 16 to be careful. Median October 31 – November 9 across 5 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 5 stations behind these numbers

All 5 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 42 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
Anniston Metro AP, AL	USW00013871	March 23	November 9	231 days
Childersburg Wtp, AL	USC00011620	March 31	November 2	216 days
Sylacauga 4 NE, AL	USC00017999	April 2	October 31	211 days
Talladega 10 Nne, AL	USW00073803	March 26	November 4	225 days
Talladega, AL	USC00018024	April 5	November 1	208 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

Talladega County sits in Alabama. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other county in it with a page here.

More of Alabama

Counties with the same zones — 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 8a, 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.