Gardening in Oklahoma City, OK
This metro spans USDA zones 7a to 7b, so there is no single zone for Oklahoma City, OK and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 97% of its ZIP codes are zone 7b; the rest are not.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Oklahoma City, OK 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 97% in zone 7b and wrong for the other 3%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7b | 104 | 97% | |
| 7a | 3 | 3% |
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 29 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 29 stations serving Oklahoma City, OK it runs 196–228 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 90–94 °F , at or above the 90 °F point where cool-season crops bolt and tomato and pepper pollen fails — so midsummer sowings of lettuce and its relatives are worth holding here.
When to start seeds in Oklahoma City, OK
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 29 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 | January 28 – February 16 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | January 28 – February 16 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | February 11 – March 2 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | February 18 – March 9 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | February 18 – March 9 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | February 18 – March 9 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | February 25 – March 16 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | March 4 – March 23 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | March 11 – March 30 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | March 18 – April 6 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | April 1 – April 20 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 8 – April 27 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | April 8 – April 27 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | April 8 – April 27 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | April 8 – April 27 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 8 – April 27 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | April 8 – April 27 | 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 Oklahoma City, OK
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 58 come through the winter in zone 7a and only 56 in zone 7b. That is a different garden at each end of the same metro.
| Zone | ZIPs | Survive | Fail for being too warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7a | 3 | 58 of 74 | 1 |
| 7b | 104 | 56 of 74 | 3 |
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 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acme Mesonet, OK | USC00340010 | April 4 | October 31 | 210 days |
| Anadarko 3 E, OK | USC00340224 | April 8 | October 30 | 202 days |
| Blanchard 2 Ssw, OK | USC00340830 | April 3 | November 4 | 214 days |
| Byars 3Ese Mesonet, OK | USC00341283 | March 25 | November 8 | 228 days |
| Chandler 5Se Mesonet, OK | USC00341685 | April 2 | November 2 | 214 days |
| Chandler, OK | USC00341684 | April 7 | October 30 | 205 days |
| Chickasha 2Sse Mesonet, OK | USC00341756 | April 6 | November 1 | 207 days |
| Chickasha Exp Station, OK | USC00341750 | April 4 | November 1 | 211 days |
| Coyle 7N Mesonet, OK | USC00342207 | April 3 | November 1 | 210 days |
| Cushing, OK | USC00342318 | April 1 | November 5 | 217 days |
| El Reno 1 N, OK | USC00342818 | April 6 | October 31 | 206 days |
| El Reno 5 Wnw Mesonet, OK | USC00342825 | April 12 | October 27 | 196 days |
| Guthrie 4Wsw Mesonet, OK | USC00343820 | April 3 | November 4 | 214 days |
| Guthrie 5S, OK | USC00343821 | April 10 | October 28 | 199 days |
| Guthrie Muni AP, OK | USW00053913 | April 3 | November 1 | 211 days |
| Kingfisher 1W Mesonet, OK | USC00344860 | April 9 | November 1 | 204 days |
| Lindsay 2 W, OK | USC00345216 | April 13 | October 27 | 196 days |
| Marshall 3Sse Mesonet, OK | USC00345590 | April 11 | October 31 | 201 days |
| Meeker 5 W, OK | USC00345779 | April 4 | October 30 | 208 days |
| Minco 2Ssw Mesonet, OK | USC00345870 | April 3 | November 5 | 216 days |
| Norman 2Nw Mesonet, OK | USC00346382 | March 31 | November 5 | 219 days |
| Norman 3Sse, OK | USC00346386 | April 3 | November 3 | 212 days |
| Oklahoma City Post AP, OK | USW00003954 | April 2 | November 4 | 216 days |
| Oklahoma City Will Rogers AP, OK | USW00013967 | April 4 | November 2 | 213 days |
| Orlando 5E Mesonet, OK | USC00346756 | April 10 | October 25 | 198 days |
| Perkins 2Nnw Mesonet, OK | USC00347002 | April 4 | November 2 | 212 days |
| Purcell 2 SW, OK | USC00347327 | April 4 | November 2 | 210 days |
| Shawnee 3Nnw Mesonet, OK | USC00348124 | March 30 | November 5 | 221 days |
| Spencer 2Ene Mesonet, OK | USC00348390 | April 2 | November 5 | 217 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 Oklahoma City, OK 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.