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Planting zones in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

This metro spans USDA zones 9a to 10a, so there is no single zone for Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 68% of its ZIP codes are zone 9b; the rest are not.

USDA zones 9a–10a 3 zones across 164 ZIP codes
ZIP codes 164 164 have a NOAA station within range
Weather stations 35 NOAA 1991–2020 normals, across 14,569 sq mi

Your ZIP code

Get the exact answer for your address

Everything above describes Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 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.

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.

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ does not have one planting answer

Its own weather stations disagree about 12 of the 32 crops in this table right now, so any single list would be wrong for part of the metro area. That is not a gap in the data — it is what the data says.

Shortest season
222 days
CATALINA SP, AZ US (USC00021357)
Longest season
365 days
PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTL AP, AZ US (USW00023183)

143 days of growing season separate those two stations, and both serve ZIP codes in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ. The ZIP lookup above answers for one address instead of averaging a place that has no average.

Why the hardiness zone does not settle this

A USDA zone is a winter-minimum statistic. It was never a growing-season one, and it does not behave like one: within a single zone the growing season runs a median 54 days wider at the 10th–90th percentile, and annual growing degree days vary by 2.02×.

The zones also overlap rather than stack — 30% of zone 6b freezes before the median zone 6a station. The zone tells you what survives your winter; the station tells you what finishes before your autumn.

The whole dataset behind that →

The growing season at one or more of this metro area's stations crosses 1 January, so a one-year bar would have to start the season after it ended. No chart is drawn rather than a misleading one.

Which zone you are in depends where you are

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ covers 3 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 68% in zone 9b and wrong for the other 32%. Here is the actual split.

Zone ZIP codes Share  
9b 111 68%
10a 33 20%
9a 20 12%

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

No freeze range is shown for Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, because the freeze window here crosses New Year, so an earliest-to-latest range would be arithmetic on dates that do not sit in order. The tools below still answer for individual ZIP codes here, and will say what applies.

Your growing season

NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 35 stations serving Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ it runs 222–365 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 93–108 °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. Summer rain over the same months runs 1.6–6.3" across those 33 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 18% of it, so a summer garden here is watered rather than rained on. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 103 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.

What survives the winter changes across Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 46 come through the winter in zone 9a and only 25 in zone 10a. That is a different garden at each end of the same metro.

Zone ZIPs Survive Fail for being too warm
9a 20 46 of 74 25
9b 111 40 of 74 32
10a 33 25 of 74 49

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.

At least one station here freezes across the new year, which puts the two ends of a spread on opposite sides of the calendar. Drawing it would produce a bar spanning almost the whole year and meaning nothing, so none is drawn.

The 35 stations behind these numbers

The 35 NOAA stations serving Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ A relative sketch of where the stations sit, about 174 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. AGUILA, AZ US (USC00020060)APACHE JUNCTION 5 NE, AZ US (USC00020288)ARIZONA CITY, AZ US (USC00020404)CAREFREE, AZ US (USC00021282)CASA GRANDE NM, AZ US (USC00021314)CASA GRANDE, AZ US (USC00021306)CASTLE HOT SPRINGS, AZ US (USC00021353)CATALINA SP, AZ US (USC00021357)CHANDLER HEIGHTS, AZ US (USC00021514)DATELAND WHITEWING RCH, AZ US (USC00022434)E MESA, AZ US (USC00022782)FLORENCE, AZ US (USC00023027)FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ US (USC00023190)GILA BEND 2SE, AZ US (USC00023393)LAVEEN 3 SSE, AZ US (USC00024829)LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ US (USC00024977)MARICOPA 4 N, AZ US (USC00025270)ORACLE SP, AZ US (USC00026117)PAINTED ROCK DAM, AZ US (USC00026194)PHOENIX DEER VALLEY MUNI AP, AZ US (USW00003184)PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTL AP, AZ US (USW00023183)PICACHO 8 SE, AZ US (USC00026513)PINNACLE PEAK, AZ US (USC00026603)PUNKIN CTR, AZ US (USC00026840)ROOSEVELT 1 S, AZ US (USC00027281)SAN CARLOS RESERVOIR, AZ US (USC00027480)SAN MANUEL, AZ US (USC00027530)SCOTTSDALE MUNI AP, AZ US (USW00003192)SOUTH PHOENIX, AZ US (USC00028112)STEWART MTN DAM, AZ US (USC00028214)SUPERIOR, AZ US (USC00028348)TEMPE ASU, AZ US (USC00028499)WICKENBURG, AZ US (USC00029287)WITTMANN 1SE, AZ US (USC00029464)YOUNGTOWN, AZ US (USC00029634) ~174 km north to south

All 35 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 174 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 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 — the table below gives it per ZIP code rather than this page averaging it.

Station NOAA ID Last spring freeze First fall freeze Season
Aguila, AZ USC00020060 March 17 November 19 243 days
Apache Junction 5 NE, AZ USC00020288 February 11 December 10 304 days
Arizona City, AZ USC00020404 February 28 November 21 266 days
Carefree, AZ USC00021282 February 4 December 16 313 days
Casa Grande Nm, AZ USC00021314 February 17 November 29 284 days
Casa Grande, AZ USC00021306 February 5 December 6 305 days
Castle Hot Springs, AZ USC00021353 January 15 December 22 341 days
Catalina SP, AZ USC00021357 April 2 November 11 222 days
Chandler Heights, AZ USC00021514 February 1 December 11 315 days
Dateland Whitewing Rch, AZ USC00022434 January 25 December 13 324 days
E Mesa, AZ USC00022782 February 1 December 10 312 days
Florence, AZ USC00023027 January 30 December 12 319 days
Fountain Hills, AZ USC00023190 January 6 December 28 356 days
Gila Bend 2Se, AZ USC00023393 January 23 December 11 323 days
Laveen 3 Sse, AZ USC00024829 January 14 December 22 343 days
Litchfield Park, AZ USC00024977 January 7 December 24 351 days
Maricopa 4 N, AZ USC00025270 February 23 November 24 274 days
Oracle SP, AZ USC00026117 March 29 November 13 225 days
Painted Rock Dam, AZ USC00026194 January 21 December 15 327 days
Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ USW00003184 January 8 December 25 354 days
Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ USW00023183 January 5 January 3 365 days
Picacho 8 SE, AZ USC00026513 February 6 December 9 308 days
Pinnacle Peak, AZ USC00026603 January 27 December 21 330 days
Punkin Ctr, AZ USC00026840 March 7 November 20 255 days
Roosevelt 1 S, AZ USC00027281 January 17 December 25 342 days
San Carlos Reservoir, AZ USC00027480 March 13 November 19 247 days
San Manuel, AZ USC00027530 February 4 December 8 306 days
Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ USW00003192 January 6 December 26 353 days
South Phoenix, AZ USC00028112 January 21 December 16 331 days
Stewart Mtn Dam, AZ USC00028214 February 13 December 5 295 days
Superior, AZ USC00028348 January 18 December 28 342 days
Tempe Asu, AZ USC00028499 February 13 December 5 298 days
Wickenburg, AZ USC00029287 March 7 November 20 254 days
Wittmann 1Se, AZ USC00029464 February 5 December 11 306 days
Youngtown, AZ USC00029634 January 20 December 15 331 days

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

Every ZIP code in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

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 — 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
85003 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 7.4 km
85004 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 6.7 km
85006 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 5.9 km
85007 10a South Phoenix, AZ 7.5 km
85008 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 4.3 km
85009 10a South Phoenix, AZ 8.9 km
85012 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 10.8 km
85013 9b Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 11.9 km
85014 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 10.1 km
85015 9b Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 12.8 km
85016 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 9.5 km
85017 9b Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 14.3 km
85018 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 10.3 km
85019 9b Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 15.9 km
85020 10a Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 13.8 km
85021 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 14.2 km
85022 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 7.4 km
85023 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 6.1 km
85024 10a Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 3.4 km
85026 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 3.7 km
85027 10a Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 2.3 km
85028 10a Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 10.1 km
85029 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 10.6 km
85031 9b South Phoenix, AZ 15.4 km
85032 9b Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 8.5 km
85033 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 13.8 km
85034 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 1.0 km
85035 9b South Phoenix, AZ 15.4 km
85037 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 8.9 km
85040 10a Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ 3.2 km
85041 10a South Phoenix, AZ 3.7 km
85042 10a South Phoenix, AZ 3.3 km
85043 9b Laveen 3 Sse, AZ 11.6 km
85044 10a South Phoenix, AZ 7.5 km
85045 10a Laveen 3 Sse, AZ 5.7 km
85048 9b South Phoenix, AZ 9.6 km
85050 10a Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 7.7 km
85051 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 15.2 km
85053 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 8.0 km
85054 9b Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 7.2 km
85083 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 10.7 km
85085 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 7.2 km
85086 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 15.6 km
85087 9b Castle Hot Springs, AZ 20.7 km
85118 9b Apache Junction 5 NE, AZ 16.1 km
85119 9b Apache Junction 5 NE, AZ 8.8 km
85120 9b E Mesa, AZ 8.5 km
85121 9b Maricopa 4 N, AZ 11.1 km
85122 9a Casa Grande, AZ 4.5 km
85123 9a Arizona City, AZ 2.3 km
85128 9a Casa Grande Nm, AZ 4.3 km
85131 9a Arizona City, AZ 13.7 km
85132 9b Florence, AZ 20.3 km
85137 9b Superior, AZ 19.5 km
85138 9a Maricopa 4 N, AZ 11.3 km
85139 9a Maricopa 4 N, AZ 26.8 km
85140 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 18.5 km
85141 9a Picacho 8 SE, AZ 3.1 km
85142 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 2.1 km
85143 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 16.1 km
85145 9a Picacho 8 SE, AZ 11.7 km
85147 9a Chandler Heights, AZ 12.7 km
85172 9a Casa Grande, AZ 22.6 km
85173 9b Superior, AZ 5.1 km
85191 9a Florence, AZ 7.9 km
85192 9a San Carlos Reservoir, AZ 28.2 km
85193 9a Casa Grande, AZ 14.4 km
85194 9a Casa Grande, AZ 8.2 km
85201 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 6.7 km
85202 10a Tempe Asu, AZ 6.7 km
85203 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 11.4 km
85204 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 13.0 km
85205 9b E Mesa, AZ 6.6 km
85206 9b E Mesa, AZ 7.1 km
85207 9b E Mesa, AZ 3.9 km
85208 9b E Mesa, AZ 2.2 km
85209 9b E Mesa, AZ 4.6 km
85210 10a Tempe Asu, AZ 8.3 km
85212 9b E Mesa, AZ 11.0 km
85213 9b E Mesa, AZ 11.8 km
85215 9b Stewart Mtn Dam, AZ 6.5 km
85224 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 12.1 km
85225 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 14.7 km
85226 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 16.8 km
85233 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 13.0 km
85234 9b E Mesa, AZ 10.7 km
85236 9b E Mesa, AZ 12.8 km
85248 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 17.2 km
85249 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 11.2 km
85250 9b Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 10.8 km
85251 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 7.6 km
85253 10a Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 9.8 km
85254 10a Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 3.7 km
85255 10a Pinnacle Peak, AZ 7.5 km
85256 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 11.6 km
85257 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 4.2 km
85258 10a Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 7.4 km
85259 10a Fountain Hills, AZ 8.9 km
85260 10a Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ 2.6 km
85262 9b Carefree, AZ 10.1 km
85263 9b Punkin Ctr, AZ 24.9 km
85264 9b Stewart Mtn Dam, AZ 15.2 km
85266 10a Carefree, AZ 6.2 km
85268 9b Fountain Hills, AZ 2.3 km
85281 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 1.2 km
85282 10a Tempe Asu, AZ 3.7 km
85283 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 6.9 km
85284 9b Tempe Asu, AZ 9.8 km
85286 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 15.9 km
85295 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 12.2 km
85296 9b E Mesa, AZ 13.8 km
85297 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 9.6 km
85298 9b Chandler Heights, AZ 5.7 km
85301 9b Youngtown, AZ 13.3 km
85302 9b Youngtown, AZ 11.8 km
85303 9b Youngtown, AZ 10.1 km
85304 9b Youngtown, AZ 11.3 km
85305 9b Youngtown, AZ 8.4 km
85306 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 11.3 km
85307 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 6.0 km
85308 9b Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 10.0 km
85309 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 4.2 km
85310 10a Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ 7.2 km
85320 9a Aguila, AZ 12.7 km
85322 9b Painted Rock Dam, AZ 17.4 km
85323 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 9.5 km
85326 9b Gila Bend 2Se, AZ 33.6 km
85329 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 9.7 km
85331 9b Carefree, AZ 8.3 km
85333 9b Dateland Whitewing Rch, AZ 17.5 km
85335 9b Youngtown, AZ 2.6 km
85337 9b Gila Bend 2Se, AZ 17.7 km
85338 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 14.7 km
85339 9b Laveen 3 Sse, AZ 10.7 km
85340 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 5.9 km
85343 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 35.3 km
85345 9b Youngtown, AZ 5.5 km
85351 9b Youngtown, AZ 2.0 km
85353 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 12.1 km
85354 9b Painted Rock Dam, AZ 37.1 km
85355 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 11.8 km
85361 9b Wittmann 1Se, AZ 10.2 km
85363 9b Youngtown, AZ 1.2 km
85373 9b Youngtown, AZ 8.3 km
85374 9b Youngtown, AZ 10.3 km
85375 9b Youngtown, AZ 9.9 km
85377 9b Carefree, AZ 1.3 km
85378 9b Youngtown, AZ 5.8 km
85379 9b Youngtown, AZ 6.8 km
85381 9b Youngtown, AZ 6.8 km
85382 9b Youngtown, AZ 8.4 km
85383 9b Wittmann 1Se, AZ 20.3 km
85387 9b Wittmann 1Se, AZ 10.4 km
85388 9b Youngtown, AZ 12.1 km
85390 9a Wickenburg, AZ 15.1 km
85392 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 5.6 km
85395 9b Litchfield Park, AZ 4.3 km
85396 9b Wittmann 1Se, AZ 31.5 km
85545 9b Roosevelt 1 S, AZ 9.7 km
85618 9a Oracle SP, AZ 18.8 km
85623 9a Oracle SP, AZ 7.0 km
85631 9a San Manuel, AZ 6.6 km
85658 9b Catalina SP, AZ 23.5 km
85739 9a Catalina SP, AZ 22.8 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 — 9a–10a — so the same plants are in and out of range across them. The freeze dates and the spring calendar are their own.

Gardening in Arizona — zones 5b– 10a covers the whole state: how its 415 ZIP codes divide between 10 hardiness zones, and the freeze dates across every NOAA station in it.

Other metro areas in AZ:

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 — 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