State guide
Planting zones in Nebraska
Nebraska spans USDA zones 5a to 6a across its 582 ZIP codes, so there is no single zone for the state and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 49% of its ZIP codes are zone 5b; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Nebraska 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
Nebraska covers 3 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 49% in zone 5b and wrong for the other 51%. Here is the actual split, by ZIP code.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5b | 284 | 49% | |
| 6a | 189 | 32% | |
| 5a | 109 | 19% |
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 184 stations in Nebraska 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.
Your growing season
NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 184 stations in Nebraska it runs 103–187 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 80–90 °F , below the 90 °F point where cool-season crops reliably bolt.
The ends of each range, named
A range with no station behind it cannot be checked, and Nebraska 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 Nebraska — these are its edges, which is a different claim.
| Measure | Earliest / lowest | Station | Latest / highest | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last spring freeze | April 15 | Valley Nws, NE USC00258795 | May 30 | Agate 3 E, NE USC00250030 |
| First fall freeze | September 11 | Agate 3 E, NE USC00250030 | October 21 | Omaha Eppley Airfield, NE USW00014942 |
| Growing season | 103 days | Agate 3 E, NE USC00250030 | 187 days | Valley Nws, NE USC00258795 |
| Mean summer high | 80 °F | Harrison 4Nw, NE USC00253617 | 90 °F | Beaver City, NE USC00250640 |
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 Nebraska
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this state's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 184 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in Nebraska — 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 | February 18 – April 4 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | February 18 – April 4 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | March 4 – April 18 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | March 11 – April 25 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | March 11 – April 25 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | March 11 – April 25 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | March 18 – May 2 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | March 25 – May 9 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | April 1 – May 16 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | April 8 – May 23 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | April 22 – June 6 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 29 – June 13 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | April 29 – June 13 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | April 29 – June 13 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | April 29 – June 13 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 29 – June 13 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | April 29 – June 13 | 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 Nebraska
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 51 come through the winter in zone 6a and only 48 in zone 5a. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5a | 109 | 48 of 74 | 0 |
| 5b | 284 | 48 of 74 | 0 |
| 6a | 189 | 51 of 74 | 0 |
The last column is the counterintuitive one. 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.
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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska
4 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.
- Omaha, NE-IA Zones 5a–6a
- Lincoln, NE Zones 5b–6a
- Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Zone 5a
- Grand Island, NE Zone 5b
Counties in Nebraska
17 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 Nebraska's ZIP codes actually are.
- Buffalo County, NE Zone 5b
- Cherry County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Custer County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Cedar County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Holt County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Lincoln County, NE Zone 5b
- Antelope County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Knox County, NE Zones 5a–5b
- Platte County, NE Zone 5b
- Richardson County, NE Zone 6a
- Furnas County, NE Zones 5b–6a
- Sheridan County, NE Zone 5a
- Boyd County, NE Zone 5a
- Burt County, NE Zone 5b
- Cheyenne County, NE Zone 5b
- Red Willow County, NE Zones 5b–6a
- Sioux County, NE Zone 5a
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.
- Trunk wrapZone 5a is cold enough that winter sun on a young trunk does more damage than the cold does.
- 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 5a, 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 Nebraska. Which ZIP codes are in Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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.