Gardening in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
This metro spans USDA zones 6a to 6b, so there is no single zone for Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 54% of its ZIP codes are zone 6b; the rest are not.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI covers 2 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the metro one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — which is fine for the 54% in zone 6b and wrong for the other 46%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6b | 117 | 54% | |
| 6a | 101 | 46% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the metro's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Those are the earliest and latest medians among the 28 stations serving this metro — not an average, and not one station standing in for the rest. Half of years freeze later than a station's own median.
The spread is the point. Even in a metro that is one hardiness zone throughout, its stations disagree about the last spring freeze. Hardiness zone and frost date measure different things — a zone is the average annual coldest night, a freeze date is when the season turns — and a place can be uniform in one and varied in the other. Use the tools below with your own ZIP rather than the ends of this range.
Your growing season
NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 28 stations serving Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI it runs 147–196 days . That figure is published, not computed from the two freeze dates — subtracting one from the other gives the wrong answer wherever a season crosses New Year. Mean summer high (June–August) runs 76–84 °F , below the 90 °F point where cool-season crops reliably bolt.
When to start seeds in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 28 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in the metro — because no one station speaks for the whole area.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Onions | Start indoors | February 22 – March 17 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | February 22 – March 17 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | March 8 – March 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | March 15 – April 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | March 15 – April 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | March 15 – April 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | March 22 – April 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | March 29 – April 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | April 5 – April 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | April 12 – May 5 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | April 26 – May 19 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | May 3 – May 26 | 2 weeks after |
The week offsets are conventional extension guidance and vary by variety; the freeze dates they are counted from are measured. For a single date rather than a range, run when do I start my seeds? with your own ZIP code.
What survives the winter changes across Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 51 come through the winter in every zone this metro covers.
| Zone | ZIPs | Survive | Fail for being too warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6a | 101 | 51 of 74 | 0 |
| 6b | 117 | 51 of 74 | 0 |
The last column is the counterintuitive one, and it is why the totals do not simply rise as the winters get milder. Most temperate fruit needs a documented number of hours below about 45 °F to break dormancy and set a crop, so an apple fails in a winter that is too warm; currants and rhubarb cook in the summer heat that comes with it. See the full list with reasons.
The 28 stations behind these numbers
Every figure above comes from these, and each is named so you can check it. Distances vary by ZIP code, so the tools report yours rather than this page guessing.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonac WWTP, MI | USC00200106 | May 3 | October 18 | 167 days |
| Ann Arbor U Of Mich, MI | USC00200230 | May 3 | October 13 | 160 days |
| Carleton 2W, MI | USC00201250 | April 27 | October 20 | 176 days |
| Caro WWTP, MI | USC00201299 | May 7 | October 9 | 154 days |
| Dearborn #2, MI | USC00202016 | April 27 | October 25 | 181 days |
| Dearborn, MI | USC00202015 | May 1 | October 15 | 166 days |
| Detroit City AP, MI | USW00014822 | April 21 | October 31 | 190 days |
| Detroit Metro AP, MI | USW00094847 | April 20 | October 27 | 188 days |
| Detroit Willow Run AP, MI | USW00014853 | April 24 | October 24 | 179 days |
| Farmington, MI | USC00202691 | May 1 | October 17 | 165 days |
| Goodrich, MI | USC00203278 | May 1 | October 14 | 164 days |
| Grosse Pointe Farms, MI | USC00203477 | April 29 | October 22 | 176 days |
| Hell, MI | USC00203712 | April 30 | October 14 | 166 days |
| Howell WWTP, MI | USC00203947 | May 4 | October 7 | 156 days |
| Lapeer 2W, MI | USC00204659 | May 4 | October 13 | 161 days |
| Lapeer WWTP, MI | USC00204655 | May 4 | October 14 | 160 days |
| Lexington Wtp, MI | USC00204808 | May 4 | October 24 | 171 days |
| Linden WWTP, MI | USC00204793 | May 3 | October 12 | 161 days |
| Milford Gm Proving Ground, MI | USC00205452 | May 6 | October 12 | 157 days |
| Mt Clemens Ang Base, MI | USW00014804 | April 30 | October 24 | 174 days |
| Newport 4Sse, MI | USC00205822 | April 27 | October 22 | 177 days |
| Pontiac Oakland Co INTL AP, MI | USW00094817 | April 29 | October 20 | 172 days |
| Pontiac WWTP, MI | USC00206658 | April 26 | October 22 | 177 days |
| Port Huron, MI | USC00206680 | April 19 | November 3 | 196 days |
| Richmond 4 Nnw, MI | USC00206982 | May 1 | October 20 | 170 days |
| White Lake 4E, MI | USC00208941 | May 10 | October 6 | 148 days |
| Whitmore Lake 1Nw, MI | USC00208972 | May 5 | October 13 | 160 days |
| Yale 1 Nnw, MI | USC00209188 | May 12 | October 5 | 147 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Work out your own dates
Each of these takes a ZIP code and answers for that ZIP alone, citing the station it used and how far away it is. There is a ZIP box in the header of every page.
- What survives my winter?
Runs on the hardiness zone, so it answers for all of Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI at once — zone across 74 perennial fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs.
- When do I start my seeds?
Dates every spring job from your own last freeze — sow indoors, set out, direct sow.
- When do I sow the next round?
How often each crop is worth re-sowing, and when the next sowing is due.
- What can I still plant?
Counts the growing days left before your first fall freeze, crop by crop.
Where these numbers come from
The hardiness zone is the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. The freeze dates are NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals, read from every station whose normals cover a ZIP code in this metro. Nothing here is estimated, and no station stands in for another.
This page names no single station on purpose. Picking one to represent a metro sounds reasonable and is not: the station serving the most ZIP codes is an artifact of where ZIP centroids happen to fall, and it selects a lock on the Monongahela for Pittsburgh and a far southern suburb for Chicago. A range across every station is true; a single cited date for a whole metro is not.