What Growing Zones Are in Texas?

The Lone Star State is the second largest state in the U.S., covering over 268,000 square miles. The huge variation of landscapes, elevations, and climates makes Texas one of the most diverse states for gardening.

From chilly zone 6 in the northern panhandle to subtropical zone 10 along the border of Mexico, Texas encompasses four major growing zones and eight half zones. The half zones (e.g., zones 7a and 7b) provide five degrees more specificity of the expected extreme annual low temperatures for a certain area. 

The USDA Plant Hardiness Growing Zone Map is a helpful tool for gardeners and farmers. It helps you determine what perennial plants can reliably overwinter outside in their region. Growing zones are determined based on average minimum extreme temperatures or the coldest winters on record for a given area. Knowing your hardiness zone can help you easily select flowers, shrubs, and trees for your landscape based on historical weather averages. 

Let’s dig into the growing zones in Texas, including the 2023 changes to the plant hardiness map.

What Growing Zones Are in Texas?

Texas includes growing zones 6b to 10a. The panhandle and northern region cover zones 6 and 7, with chilly winters that can reach single digits. Central and east Texas are a mild zone 8, while south Texas and the Gulf Coast cover zones 9a and 9b. The very southern tip of Texas along the Mexican border is subtropical zone 10a. Since the 2023 updates to the USDA Plant Hardiness Map, much of Texas has transitioned into a warmer zone. 

Texas is a prime location for producing vegetables, nuts, fruits, and ornamental trees. The state tree, the Texas pecan (Carya illinoinensis), can be grown in every county of the Lone Star State. 

Beautiful southern magnolias and crape myrtles thrive in most of the state. Apples, plums, and blackberries grow well in North Texas. Peaches and citrus trees (particularly the famous Texas grapefruit) thrive in the southern valleys of the Lone Star state. Grapes and blueberries do well in the Hill Country, while rabbiteye blueberries thrive in the humid zones of east Texas. The Gulf Coast of Texas is perfect for growing live oak, pecans, sugarberry, persimmons, and mesquite. 

From cool-weather lettuce and kale to heat-loving okra and tomatoes, Texas gardeners can grow almost every vegetable at some point in the season. North Texas growers can practice standard spring, summer, and fall planting successions, but central and southern Texas gardeners must adjust their planting schedule to avoid the extreme heat of midsummer.

Zone 6

The coldest parts of Texas reside on the border of Oklahoma and New Mexico. The Texas Panhandle and northwestern region covers zone 6a and 6b, with its coldest extreme temperatures dipping to -5°F (-21°C). Fortunately, zone 6 still has a moderately long growing season, with frost-free days from May 1 to November 1. 

This part of Texas is predominantly known for cattle and grain production, but it also supports a great diversity of trees. Cold hardiness, drought resilience, and wind tolerance are essential for this zone. The panhandle is known for intense winds (and sometimes blizzards and tornadoes), which is why it’s a hub for wind turbines. Over 20% of Texas electricity is produced by wind energy in this region, but that means your plants must be able to handle the gusts. 

When designing your northwest Texas landscape, it’s vital to plant fast-growing perennials that can anchor their roots deep in the soil. Mulch, ground cover plants, and low-growing perennials are essential to protect bare soil from wind erosion and harsh winter frosts.

A huge range of winter hardy trees and perennials can be grown in your zone 6 landscape, including:

Zone 7

The Lone Star State’s zone 7 is relatively small, including most of west Texas along the New Mexican border and southern portions of the panhandle. Palo Duro Canyon resides mostly in zone 7.

This area experiences extreme winter temperatures from 0 to 5°F (-18 to -15°C) in zone 7a or 5-10°F (-15 to -12°C) in zone 7b. The planting challenges in this zone are similar to zone 6: lots of wind, some drought, and the potential for crazy winter storms. 

There are plenty of frost-free days for annual gardening and an even greater diversity of trees and perennials to choose from:

Zone 8

The largest portion of Texas’s land mass lies in zone 8. Zone 8a with annual extreme lows of 10-15°F (-12 to -9°C) encompasses most of west Texas. Zone 8b, with extreme lows of15-20°F (-9 to -6°C) covers northeast and central Texas, from Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin, and the famous Texas Hill Country. 

This area has hot, dry summers and mild winters, with fairly dry weather and a long growing season for many successions of annual crops. It’s important to plan for long summer droughts in zone 8. Beware that the occasional harsh winter storm can wipe out semi-tropical plants and cacti in these zones.

The famous Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) has no problem reseeding itself in zone 8 and warmer. This annual member of the lupine family germinates in the fall, grows throughout winter, and begins blooming around March through May. The seedpods form in midsummer and fall to the ground to repeat the cycle next year.

Here are some gorgeous trees and perennials that are drought-resilient and hardy in zone 8:

Zone 9

Zones 9a and 9b cover Houston, San Antonio, the Gulf Coast of Texas, and down to the deepest southern regions along the Mexican border. This area occasionally freezes and is home to the famous grapefruit industry, the state fruit of Texas. Zone 9a has extreme annual lows between 20 and 25°F (-6 to -4°C), while zone 9b stays above 25 to 30°F (-4 to -1°). 

Freezes can still occur in this area, which has been problematic for the citrus industry in the Rio Grande Valley. For example, the historical winter storms of 2021 killed grapefruit and orange trees across south Texas with prolonged freezing weather. However, the extremes of winter should not distract from the intense summers in this zone! 

Zone 9 growers still have practically endless planting possibilities of both temperate and subtropical plants. The key is to choose species that can handle super hot summers. Several months of scorching triple-digit temperatures are now very common in central and south Texas. San Antonio experienced a record-breaking 75 days of triple-digit temperatures in 2023. You must choose heat-tolerant plants that can withstand drought and intense sunshine for much of the year.

Zone 10

Tropical zone 10a covers only the southern tip of Texas. Brownsville is the main city in this region. Gardeners here can grow a massive range of desert and tropical plants as long as you take into account access to water during extremely hot, dry summers. 

The lower Rio Grande Valley is perfect for fruit and nut trees like citrus, nectarines, peaches, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cherries. You can even grow avocados outdoors here! Many of the plants grown south of the border can be planted in south Texas gardens.