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Place guide

Planting zones in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

This metro spans USDA zones 6a to 6b, so there is no single zone for Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 76% of its ZIP codes are zone 6a; the rest are not.

USDA zones 6a–6b 2 zones across 120 ZIP codes
ZIP codes 120 120 have a NOAA station within range
Weather stations 20 NOAA 1991–2020 normals, across 4,086 sq mi

Your ZIP code

Get the exact answer for your address

Everything above describes Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN as a whole. Hardiness zones and freeze dates are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact β€” enter it and this page will tell you your zone, which NOAA station it comes from and how far away that station is.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one.

The growing season in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN is closing

Nothing in the 32-crop table still has time to mature here. The first fall freeze normally arrives October 12 – October 29 across the 20 NOAA stations serving this metro area .

Your next season already has a date

The first job of it is πŸ§… Green Onions, start indoors, around February 15 – March 2 β€” counted back from a last spring freeze of April 12 – April 27 here.

Every spring date for your ZIP β†’

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

Growing season across Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN A one-year bar. Every one of the 20 NOAA stations serving this metro area counts April 27 to October 12 as growing season, 168 days. At least one counts April 12 to October 29, 200 days. The same figures are written out below this chart. JFMAMJJASONDApril 27October 12

All 20 stations agreeAt least one station

Every one of the 20 NOAA stations serving this metro area counts April 27 – October 12 as growing season (168 days). Widening to any single station gives April 12 – October 29 (200 days).

That is a 32-day difference inside one metro area β€” 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

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN covers 2 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the metro one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it β€” which is fine for the 76% in zone 6a and wrong for the other 24%. Here is the actual split.

Zone ZIP codes Share  
6a 91 76%
6b 29 24%

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

Last spring freeze April 12 – April 27
First fall freeze October 12 – October 29

Those are the earliest and latest medians among the 20 stations serving this metro β€” 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 β€” a zone is the average annual coldest night, a freeze date is when the season turns β€” 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 20 stations serving Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN it runs 167–198 days . That figure is published, not computed from the two freeze dates β€” subtracting one from the other gives the wrong answer wherever a season crosses New Year. Mean summer high (June–August) runs 82–85 Β°F , below the 90 Β°F point where cool-season crops reliably bolt. Summer rain over the same months runs 11.3–14.2" across those 20 stations, against the rough inch a week β€” about 13 inches over the same 92 days β€” that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. The middle station covers about 98% 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 83 Β°F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.

When to start seeds in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 20 stations β€” the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in the metro β€” because no one station speaks for the whole area.

Crop Job When Offset
Green Onions Start indoors February 15 – March 2 8 weeks before
Peppers Start indoors February 15 – March 2 8 weeks before
Broccoli Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Cabbage Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Collards Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Kale Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Leaf Lettuce Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Peas Direct sow March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Spinach Direct sow March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Sweet Potato Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Tomatoes Start indoors March 1 – March 16 6 weeks before
Bok Choy Start indoors March 8 – March 23 5 weeks before
Kohlrabi Start indoors March 8 – March 23 5 weeks before
Swiss Chard Start indoors March 8 – March 23 5 weeks before
Arugula Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Baby Salad Greens Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Beets Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Green Onions Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Mustard Greens Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Okra Start indoors March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Radishes Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Turnips Direct sow March 15 – March 30 4 weeks before
Cabbage Set out March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Carrots Direct sow March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Collards Direct sow March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Collards Set out March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Cucumbers Start indoors March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Green Onions Set out March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Kale Direct sow March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Kale Set out March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Kohlrabi Direct sow March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Kohlrabi Set out March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Leaf Lettuce Direct sow March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Pumpkins Start indoors March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Summer Squash Start indoors March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Winter Squash Start indoors March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Zucchini Start indoors March 22 – April 6 3 weeks before
Bok Choy Direct sow March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Bok Choy Set out March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Broccoli Set out March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Cilantro Direct sow March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Leaf Lettuce Set out March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Swiss Chard Direct sow March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Swiss Chard Set out March 29 – April 13 2 weeks before
Dill Direct sow April 5 – April 20 1 week before
Bush Beans Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Cucumbers Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Pumpkins Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Pumpkins Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Summer Squash Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Summer Squash Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Sweet Corn Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Tomatoes Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Winter Squash Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Winter Squash Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Zucchini Direct sow April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Zucchini Set out April 19 – May 4 1 week after
Cucumbers Direct sow April 26 – May 11 2 weeks after
Okra Direct sow April 26 – May 11 2 weeks after
Okra Set out April 26 – May 11 2 weeks after
Peppers Set out April 26 – May 11 2 weeks after
Southern Peas Direct sow April 26 – May 11 2 weeks after
Sweet Potato Set out April 26 – May 11 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 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

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 91 51 of 74 0
6b 29 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 Β°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.

How certain the freeze dates are in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Two rows. Each runs from the cautious date, which shortens the growing season, to the optimistic one. The median dates sit between them. Every figure is repeated in the text below this chart. JFMAMJJASONDLast spring freezeFirst fall freeze

Cautious β€” shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic

Last spring freeze
Plan to May 15 to be careful. Median April 12 – April 27 across 20 stations; March 30 is the optimistic end.
First fall freeze
Plan to September 26 to be careful. Median October 12 – October 29 across 20 stations; November 10 is the optimistic end.

NOAA publishes these as probabilities, not averages β€” 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 20 stations behind these numbers

The 20 NOAA stations serving Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN A relative sketch of where the stations sit, about 143 kilometres north to south. Each is named with its NOAA identifier in the station list on this page, which carries the same information as text. ANDERSON SEWAGE PLT, IN US (USC00120177)BLOOMINGTON INDIANA UNIV, IN US (USC00120784)CARMEL 3 E, IN US (USC00121303)CASTLETON 2 S, IN US (USC00121326)CRAWFORDSVILLE 6 SE, IN US (USC00121873)ELWOOD, IN US (USC00122638)FRANKLIN WWTP, IN US (USC00123091)GREENCASTLE 1 W, IN US (USC00123513)GREENFIELD, IN US (USC00123527)INDIANAPOLIS EAGLE CREEK AP, IN US (USW00053842)INDIANAPOLIS NWFO, IN US (USC00124260)INDIANAPOLIS SE SIDE, IN US (USC00124272)INDIANAPOLIS, IN US (USW00093819)JAMESTOWN 2 E, IN US (USC00124356)KOKOMO 3 WSW, IN US (USC00124662)MARTINSVILLE 2 SW, IN US (USC00125407)SHELBYVILLE MUNI AP, IN US (USW00053866)SHELBYVILLE SEWAGE PLT, IN US (USC00127999)TIPTON 5 SW, IN US (USC00128784)WHITESTOWN, IN US (USC00129557) ~143 km north to south

All 20 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 143 km north to south. Every one is named with its identifier in the station list below β€” this page does not single one out, because no one station speaks for a whole metro 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.

Every figure above comes from these, and each is named so you can check it. Which station serves a given ZIP code, and how far away it is, varies across the metro β€” the table below gives it per ZIP code rather than this page averaging it.

Station NOAA ID Last spring freeze First fall freeze Season
Anderson Sewage Plt, IN USC00120177 April 19 October 23 186 days
Bloomington Indiana Univ, IN USC00120784 April 15 October 26 192 days
Carmel 3 E, IN USC00121303 April 21 October 21 183 days
Castleton 2 S, IN USC00121326 April 18 October 26 190 days
Crawfordsville 6 SE, IN USC00121873 April 27 October 12 167 days
Elwood, IN USC00122638 April 24 October 18 175 days
Franklin WWTP, IN USC00123091 April 20 October 19 180 days
Greencastle 1 W, IN USC00123513 April 27 October 15 169 days
Greenfield, IN USC00123527 April 19 October 22 185 days
Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN USW00053842 April 12 October 29 198 days
Indianapolis Nwfo, IN USC00124260 April 12 October 27 196 days
Indianapolis SE Side, IN USC00124272 April 20 October 21 183 days
Indianapolis, IN USW00093819 April 15 October 26 193 days
Jamestown 2 E, IN USC00124356 April 23 October 19 178 days
Kokomo 3 Wsw, IN USC00124662 April 27 October 18 174 days
Martinsville 2 SW, IN USC00125407 April 24 October 15 173 days
Shelbyville Muni AP, IN USW00053866 April 14 October 23 191 days
Shelbyville Sewage Plt, IN USC00127999 April 17 October 22 187 days
Tipton 5 SW, IN USC00128784 April 23 October 17 174 days
Whitestown, IN USC00129557 April 21 October 20 180 days

These are medians, not averages β€” NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.

Every ZIP code in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

Zones are published per ZIP code, not per metro area, so this is the exact answer rather than the metro area's average. The station column is the nearest one to that ZIP code's centroid and how far away it is β€” 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
46001 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 16.3 km
46011 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 4.3 km
46012 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 8.8 km
46013 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 7.2 km
46016 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 3.3 km
46017 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 10.4 km
46030 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 9.6 km
46031 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 8.7 km
46032 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 9.9 km
46033 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 3.0 km
46034 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 11.0 km
46036 6a Elwood, IN 1.5 km
46037 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 9.8 km
46038 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 3.6 km
46040 6a Greenfield, IN 16.9 km
46044 6a Elwood, IN 9.5 km
46045 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 8.1 km
46047 6a Elwood, IN 8.7 km
46048 6a Greenfield, IN 19.1 km
46049 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 12.5 km
46051 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 11.9 km
46052 6a Whitestown, IN 10.6 km
46055 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 12.8 km
46056 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 18.0 km
46060 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 15.5 km
46062 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 11.1 km
46063 6a Elwood, IN 10.4 km
46064 6a Anderson Sewage Plt, IN 14.6 km
46068 6a Kokomo 3 Wsw, IN 10.7 km
46069 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 14.0 km
46070 6a Elwood, IN 17.0 km
46071 6a Crawfordsville 6 SE, IN 20.3 km
46072 6a Tipton 5 SW, IN 7.7 km
46074 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 12.8 km
46075 6a Whitestown, IN 3.4 km
46076 6a Elwood, IN 12.6 km
46077 6a Whitestown, IN 6.6 km
46102 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 8.2 km
46103 6a Greencastle 1 W, IN 23.1 km
46106 6a Franklin WWTP, IN 14.9 km
46107 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 2.0 km
46110 6a Shelbyville Muni AP, IN 9.6 km
46111 6a Martinsville 2 SW, IN 17.0 km
46112 6a Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 8.6 km
46113 6a Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 8.0 km
46117 6a Greenfield, IN 12.8 km
46118 6a Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 22.1 km
46121 6a Greencastle 1 W, IN 17.4 km
46122 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 16.8 km
46123 6a Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 11.4 km
46124 6b Franklin WWTP, IN 13.5 km
46125 6a Martinsville 2 SW, IN 20.9 km
46126 6a Shelbyville Muni AP, IN 8.0 km
46130 6a Shelbyville Muni AP, IN 10.9 km
46131 6b Franklin WWTP, IN 0.6 km
46140 6a Greenfield, IN 2.0 km
46142 6b Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 13.1 km
46143 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 14.0 km
46144 6a Greenfield, IN 16.5 km
46147 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 5.7 km
46149 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 5.8 km
46151 6a Martinsville 2 SW, IN 7.0 km
46157 6a Martinsville 2 SW, IN 17.9 km
46158 6a Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 16.2 km
46160 6b Martinsville 2 SW, IN 16.9 km
46161 6a Shelbyville Muni AP, IN 13.6 km
46162 6b Franklin WWTP, IN 12.3 km
46163 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 13.9 km
46164 6a Franklin WWTP, IN 19.7 km
46165 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 8.9 km
46166 6a Martinsville 2 SW, IN 12.1 km
46167 6a Jamestown 2 E, IN 12.3 km
46168 6a Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 9.8 km
46176 6a Shelbyville Sewage Plt, IN 1.6 km
46180 6a Greencastle 1 W, IN 22.8 km
46181 6a Franklin WWTP, IN 15.5 km
46182 6a Shelbyville Sewage Plt, IN 13.0 km
46184 6a Franklin WWTP, IN 10.2 km
46186 6a Greenfield, IN 15.6 km
46201 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 7.3 km
46202 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 11.0 km
46203 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 3.3 km
46204 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 9.7 km
46205 6b Castleton 2 S, IN 9.0 km
46206 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 9.3 km
46208 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 10.7 km
46214 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 3.6 km
46216 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 3.9 km
46217 6b Indianapolis, IN 8.4 km
46218 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 9.1 km
46219 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 7.8 km
46220 6b Castleton 2 S, IN 5.1 km
46221 6b Indianapolis, IN 3.8 km
46222 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 7.9 km
46224 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 4.7 km
46225 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 8.6 km
46226 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 4.5 km
46227 6b Indianapolis SE Side, IN 7.2 km
46228 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 8.5 km
46229 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 11.1 km
46231 6b Indianapolis Nwfo, IN 4.6 km
46234 6a Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 3.1 km
46235 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 8.1 km
46236 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 7.3 km
46237 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 5.0 km
46239 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 5.9 km
46240 6b Castleton 2 S, IN 6.9 km
46241 6b Indianapolis, IN 2.6 km
46250 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 2.5 km
46254 6b Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 3.4 km
46256 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 4.5 km
46259 6a Indianapolis SE Side, IN 10.4 km
46260 6a Castleton 2 S, IN 11.0 km
46268 6a Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 9.7 km
46278 6a Indianapolis Eagle Creek AP, IN 7.6 km
46280 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 7.2 km
46290 6a Carmel 3 E, IN 9.3 km
47234 6b Shelbyville Sewage Plt, IN 17.0 km
47435 6b Martinsville 2 SW, IN 20.5 km
47448 6b Bloomington Indiana Univ, IN 24.7 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.

Your own ZIP

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.

Other places to compare

These metros span exactly the same zones β€” 6a–6b β€” so the same plants are in and out of range across them. The freeze dates and the spring calendar are their own.

Gardening in Indiana β€” zones 5b– 7a covers the whole state: how its 783 ZIP codes divide between 4 hardiness zones, and the freeze dates across every NOAA station in it.

Other metro areas in IN:

All 388 metro areas, by state

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 β€” the search is the honest version, and you choose.

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

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.

All metro areas