State guide
Planting zones in North Dakota
North Dakota spans USDA zones 3b to 4b across its 387 ZIP codes, so there is no single zone for the state and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 77% of its ZIP codes are zone 4a; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes North Dakota 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
North Dakota 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 77% in zone 4a and wrong for the other 23%. Here is the actual split, by ZIP code.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4a | 298 | 77% | |
| 3b | 54 | 14% | |
| 4b | 35 | 9% |
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 125 stations in North Dakota 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 125 stations in North Dakota it runs 115–158 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 73–83 °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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota — these are its edges, which is a different claim.
| Measure | Earliest / lowest | Station | Latest / highest | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last spring freeze | May 2 | Hillsboro 3 N, ND USC00324203 | May 24 | Hettinger Muni AP, ND USW00094038 |
| First fall freeze | September 17 | Fortuna 1 W, ND USC00323196 | October 9 | Hillsboro 3 N, ND USC00324203 |
| Growing season | 115 days | Hettinger Muni AP, ND USW00094038 | 158 days | Hillsboro 3 N, ND USC00324203 |
| Mean summer high | 73 °F | Rolla 1Ne, ND USC00327664 | 83 °F | Mc Clusky, ND USC00325710 |
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 North Dakota
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this state's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 125 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in North Dakota — 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 | March 7 – March 29 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | March 7 – March 29 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | March 21 – April 12 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | March 28 – April 19 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | March 28 – April 19 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | March 28 – April 19 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | April 4 – April 26 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | April 11 – May 3 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | April 18 – May 10 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | April 25 – May 17 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | May 9 – May 31 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | May 16 – June 7 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | May 16 – June 7 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | May 16 – June 7 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | May 16 – June 7 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | May 16 – June 7 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | May 16 – June 7 | 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 North Dakota
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 34 come through the winter in zone 4a and only 17 in zone 3b. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3b | 54 | 17 of 74 | 0 |
| 4a | 298 | 34 of 74 | 0 |
| 4b | 35 | 34 of 74 | 0 |
The best zone in North Dakota is 4a, which is not its mildest — 4b 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota
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.
- Fargo, ND-MN Zone 4a
- Grand Forks, ND-MN Zones 3b–4a
- Minot, ND Zones 3b–4a
- Bismarck, ND Zone 4a
Counties in North Dakota
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 North Dakota's ZIP codes actually are.
- Richland County, ND Zones 4a–4b
- McLean County, ND Zone 4a
- Stutsman County, ND Zones 4a–4b
- Barnes County, ND Zone 4a
- Benson County, ND Zone 4a
- Ramsey County, ND Zones 3b–4a
- Bottineau County, ND Zones 3b–4a
- Williams County, ND Zones 3b–4a
- Sargent County, ND Zones 4a–4b
- Dunn County, ND Zone 4a
- Emmons County, ND Zone 4a
- Rolette County, ND Zone 3b
- Towner County, ND Zone 3b
- Wells County, ND Zone 4a
- McKenzie County, ND Zone 4a
- Stark County, ND Zones 4a–4b
- Dickey County, ND Zones 4a–4b
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 3b 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 3b, 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 North Dakota. Which ZIP codes are in North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.