State guide
Planting zones in Alabama
Alabama spans USDA zones 7b to 9b across its 652 ZIP codes, so there is no single zone for the state and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 42% of its ZIP codes are zone 8b; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes 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.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Alabama covers 5 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the state one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — which is fine for the 42% in zone 8b and wrong for the other 58%. Here is the actual split, by ZIP code.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8b | 273 | 42% | |
| 8a | 264 | 40% | |
| 9a | 66 | 10% | |
| 7b | 48 | 7% | |
| 9b | 1 | 0% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the state'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 117 stations in Alabama with an ordinary freeze window — not an average, and not one station standing in for the rest. Half of years freeze later than a station's own median.
1 of this state's 118 stations are left out of that range, and saying so matters more than the range itself. 1 sit where the freeze window crosses New Year, so their "first" freeze precedes their "last" and folding them in would be arithmetic on dates that do not sit in order. They are counted, not averaged away.
Your growing season
NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 118 stations in Alabama it runs 198–340 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 85–94 °F , reaching 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 in the hotter parts of the state.
The ends of each range, named
A range with no station behind it cannot be checked, and Alabama has too many stations to table them all. So every figure above is reported here with the station standing at each end of it, by name and NOAA ID. No station on this page represents Alabama — these are its edges, which is a different claim.
| Measure | Earliest / lowest | Station | Latest / highest | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last spring freeze | February 21 | Mobile Dwtn AP, AL USW00013838 | April 11 | Hamilton 3 S, AL USC00013645 |
| First fall freeze | October 27 | Camp Hill 2Nw, AL USC00011324 | December 6 | Mobile Dwtn AP, AL USW00013838 |
| Growing season | 198 days | Hamilton 3 S, AL USC00013645 | 340 days | Dauphin Is #2, AL USC00012172 |
| Mean summer high | 85 °F | Valley Head, AL USC00018469 | 94 °F | Eufaula Wildlife Ref, AL USC00012730 |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
When to start seeds in Alabama
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this state's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 117 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in Alabama — because no one station speaks for a whole state. The ranges are wide on purpose: that width is the state.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Onions | Start indoors | January 3 – December 27 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | January 3 – December 27 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | January 10 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | January 17 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | January 17 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | January 17 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | January 24 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | January 31 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | February 7 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | February 14 – April 4 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | February 28 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | March 7 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | March 7 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | March 7 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | March 7 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | March 7 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | March 7 – April 25 | 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 Alabama
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 57 come through the winter in zone 8a and only 40 in zone 9b. Winter hardiness runs on the zone alone, so each row below is exact for the ZIP codes in it.
| Zone | ZIPs | Survive | Fail for being too warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7b | 48 | 56 of 74 | 3 |
| 8a | 264 | 57 of 74 | 8 |
| 8b | 273 | 54 of 74 | 11 |
| 9a | 66 | 46 of 74 | 25 |
| 9b | 1 | 40 of 74 | 32 |
The best zone in Alabama is 8a, which is not its mildest — 9b is. The count peaks in the middle and falls both ways, because the warm end loses plants to insufficient winter chill and summer heat rather than to cold. 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 heat that comes with it. See the full list with reasons.
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.
- What survives my winter?
Runs on the hardiness zone, so it answers exactly for your ZIP code rather than for Alabama as a whole — 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.
Metro areas in Alabama
13 metro areas here have its own page, with the freeze dates from every station serving it, a spring calendar built from those stations, and every ZIP code in it listed with that ZIP code's exact zone and nearest station.
- Birmingham, AL Zones 8a–8b
- Montgomery, AL Zone 8b
- Mobile, AL Zones 8b–9b
- Columbus, GA-AL Zones 8a–8b
- Tuscaloosa, AL Zones 8a–8b
- Huntsville, AL Zones 7b–8a
- Dothan, AL Zones 8b–9a
- Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL Zones 8b–9a
- Auburn-Opelika, AL Zones 8a–8b
- Decatur, AL Zone 8a
- Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL Zones 7b–8a
- Gadsden, AL Zone 8a
- Anniston-Oxford, AL Zone 8a
Counties in Alabama
13 countys here have its own page, listing every ZIP code in it with that ZIP code's exact zone and nearest station. These are the smaller places outside the metro areas above — where most of Alabama's ZIP codes actually are.
- Jackson County, AL Zones 7b–8a
- DeKalb County, AL Zones 7b–8a
- Cullman County, AL Zones 7b–8a
- Choctaw County, AL Zone 8b
- Clarke County, AL Zone 8b
- Talladega County, AL Zone 8a
- Marshall County, AL Zone 8a
- Monroe County, AL Zone 8b
- Dale County, AL Zones 8b–9a
- Franklin County, AL Zones 7b–8a
- Pike County, AL Zone 8b
- Chambers County, AL Zones 8a–8b
- Crenshaw County, AL Zone 8b
Other states to compare
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 7b, 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
The hardiness zone is the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. The freeze dates, growing seasons and summer highs are NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals, read from every station in Alabama. Which ZIP codes are in Alabama comes from the Census ZIP-to-county relation, since a county's federal code begins with its state's. Nothing here is estimated.
This page names no single station for Alabama on purpose. Picking one to represent a state sounds reasonable and is not — the same reason the metro pages refuse it, only more so at this size. Instead every range names the station at each end, so you can check both without either one being made to speak for the state.