Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Planting Zone Map

Pennsylvania has USDA plant hardiness zones 5b to 8a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 6b (22 of 67 counties), then 6a (22).

Photo: Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley. Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Find the planting zone for your Pennsylvania county

Zones: USDA ARS 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, main zone of each county by ZIP code area. Frost dates: NOAA 1991-2020 normals.

Autumn meadow below Chestnut Ridge on State Game Lands 168, Monroe County

Autumn meadow below Chestnut Ridge on State Game Lands 168, Monroe County

USDA plant hardiness zone map of Pennsylvania

Official USDA 2023 plant hardiness zone map of Pennsylvania

Official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023), USDA Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group, shown reduced in size. Full-size files: USDA map downloads; interactive map: planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.

Pennsylvania counties by main zone

Each county is listed under the zone that covers most of its ZIP code area. Larger or hilly counties can span two or more zones.

Zone 5b5 counties
Zone 6a22 counties
Zone 6b22 counties
Zone 7a16 counties
Zone 7b2 counties

Planting zone for every Pennsylvania county

CountyMain zoneZones in countyAverage coldest nightLast frost (50%)
Adams7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 24
Allegheny6b6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 24
Armstrong6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FMay 4
Beaver6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FApr 28
Bedford6b6a, 6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 29
Berks7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 10
Blair6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FApr 25
Bradford6a6a-10 to -5°FMay 2
Bucks7a6b, 7a, 7b0 to 5°FApr 13
Butler6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 7
Cambria6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 17
Cameron5b5b, 6a-15 to -10°FMay 7
Carbon6b6a, 6b, 7a-5 to 0°FMay 7
Centre6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FApr 20
Chester7a7a0 to 5°FApr 19
Clarion6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 9
Clearfield6a6a-10 to -5°FMay 4
Clinton6a5b, 6a, 6b-10 to -5°FApr 30
Columbia6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FMay 4
Crawford6a6a-10 to -5°FApr 30
Cumberland7a7a0 to 5°FApr 23
Dauphin7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FMay 1
Delaware7b7a, 7b, 8a5 to 10°FMar 30
Elk5b5b, 6a-15 to -10°FMay 13
Erie6a6a, 6b, 7a-10 to -5°FApr 26
Fayette6b6a, 6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 30
Forest6a5b, 6a-10 to -5°FMay 1
Franklin7a6b, 7a, 7b0 to 5°FApr 18
Fulton7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 27
Greene6b6a, 6b, 7a-5 to 0°FMay 3
Huntingdon6b6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 19
Indiana6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FMay 8
Jefferson6a5b, 6a-10 to -5°FMay 6
Juniata7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 21
Lackawanna6a6a, 6b, 7a-10 to -5°FApr 23
Lancaster7a7a0 to 5°FApr 19
Lawrence6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FApr 30
Lebanon7a7a0 to 5°FApr 20
Lehigh7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 20
Luzerne6b6a, 6b, 7a-5 to 0°FMay 7
Lycoming6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FApr 25
McKean5b5b-15 to -10°FMay 18
Mercer6a6a-10 to -5°FMay 15
Mifflin6b6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 21
Monroe6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FMay 6
Montgomery7a6b, 7a, 7b0 to 5°FApr 24
Montour6b6b-5 to 0°FApr 26
Northampton7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 18
Northumberland6b6b-5 to 0°FApr 30
Perry7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 18
Philadelphia7b7b5 to 10°FMar 30
Pike6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 10
Potter5b5b, 6a-15 to -10°FMay 14
Schuylkill6b6b, 7a-5 to 0°FApr 30
Snyder6b6b-5 to 0°FApr 25
Somerset6a5b, 6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 12
Sullivan6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FMay 6
Susquehanna5b5b, 6a-15 to -10°FMay 14
Tioga6a5b, 6a-10 to -5°FMay 10
Union6b6b-5 to 0°FApr 25
Venango6a6a-10 to -5°FMay 2
Warren6a5b, 6a-10 to -5°FMay 22
Washington6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FApr 24
Wayne6a5b, 6a-10 to -5°FMay 14
Westmoreland6b6a, 6b-5 to 0°FMay 1
Wyoming6a6a, 6b-10 to -5°FApr 23
York7a6b, 7a0 to 5°FApr 26

When to plant in Pennsylvania: crop by crop

Planting dates for each crop in Pennsylvania, from the Penn State Extension calendar.

Pennsylvania planting zone questions

What planting zone is Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has USDA plant hardiness zones 5b to 8a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 6b (22 of 67 counties), then 6a (22).

What does a hardiness zone mean?

A USDA zone is based on the average coldest winter night from 1991 to 2020. Each zone is 10°F wide, split into a and b halves of 5°F.

Did the zones change in 2023?

Yes. USDA released a new map in November 2023 using 1991 to 2020 data. Many places moved half a zone warmer than on the 2012 map.

Does my zone tell me when to plant?

No. Zones are about which perennials survive winter. Planting dates follow frost dates; see Pennsylvania frost dates and the Pennsylvania planting calendar.

How is a county's zone worked out here?

From the USDA 2023 zone of each ZIP code, joined to Census ZIP code areas. The main zone covers most of the county's ZIP code area.

Can I use the USDA map image?

USDA publishes the official map as a public-domain image. The map on this page is the official file, reduced in size, with a link to the full-size version.

Reclaimed grassland of the German Settlement area overlooking the Beech Creek drainage on State Game Lands 100, Centre County
Reclaimed grassland of the German Settlement area overlooking the Beech Creek drainage on State Game Lands 100, Centre County

Photos: Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Reclaimed grassland of the German Settlement area overlooking the Beech Creek drainage on State Game Lands 100, Centre County: Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Autumn meadow below Chestnut Ridge on State Game Lands 168, Monroe County: Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Unripe green tomato on the plant: Microrao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plant growing in a garden bed: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of sweet corn in summer: Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber plants growing in a greenhouse bed: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini plant with a yellow flower: net_efekt from Oxford, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Lettuce plants growing in rows: AfroBrazilian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Neat rows of young garlic shoots growing in dark tilled soil: Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pea vines on a garden trellis with white flowers and flat green pods: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Young watermelon plant in a garden: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons.