Gardening in Mississippi

Hardiness zones in Mississippi

Mississippi covers four USDA hardiness zones, running from 7b in the northern part of the state to 9a along the coast. A hardiness zone number tells you the average annual minimum winter temperature for that area, and nothing more. It does not describe how hot the summer gets, how much rain falls, or what the soil is like. Two towns in the same zone can still have very different summers and very different soil. Because of this, use the zone only to judge which plants can survive a Mississippi winter where you garden. For planting dates and frost risk, lean on the frost data for your area rather than the zone number alone. Check your specific zone against a current USDA map, since the zone can shift block by block near the state's borders.

• Zone 7b
• Zone 8a
• Zone 8b
• Zone 9a

Frost dates

Frost dates in Mississippi vary a lot depending on where you are in the state. The last spring frost at the 50% probability level has arrived as early as February 12 in the warmest areas. It has arrived as late as April 9 in the coolest ones. The first fall frost has shown up as early as October 26 in some spots and as late as December 14 in others. That means the safe window for frost-tender plants opens and closes on very different dates from the coast to the hill country. A frost date at the 50% level is the point where there is a 50% chance of frost. It is not a guarantee, so treat it as a planning guide, not a hard line. Wait until after your local last frost date to set out tender seedlings. Bring tender plants in, or cover them, once your local first frost date gets close. Gardeners near the coast get a much longer stretch between frosts than gardeners further inland.

Climate

Climate data for this page comes from 93 weather stations spread across the state. That spread matters because the numbers shift as you move across the state. Frost dates, zone numbers, and the length of the growing season all change from north to south. The growing season is the stretch between the last spring frost and the first fall frost. Across Mississippi, it ranges from as short as 202 days in some areas to as long as 301 days in others. That is a gap of nearly 100 days between the shortest and longest season. A planting calendar that works near the coast can be far too late for a spot near the state's northern border. The hardiness zones mirror this same spread, running from 7b to 9a across the state. The zone, the frost dates, and the season length all move together across Mississippi. Check the figures for your part of the state rather than relying on one number for the whole state. Pulling data from 93 stations rather than one or two gives a clearer picture of how growing conditions change across the state.

Season length

The length of the growing season sets how much time you have between frosts to grow frost-tender crops. In Mississippi, that season runs from as short as 202 days in the coolest spots to as long as 301 days in the warmest ones. A gardener with a 301-day season can grow long-season crops that a 202-day season would not allow to finish. Check your own last and first frost dates to see where your garden falls within that range. Do not assume the state average applies to your yard. A season on the short end still supports a full round of spring and fall crops if you time planting around your local frost dates.