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Tennessee Planting Zone Map
Tennessee has USDA plant hardiness zones 6b to 8a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 7b (69 of 95 counties), then 7a (20).
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 Tennessee county
Zones: USDA ARS 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, main zone of each county by ZIP code area. Frost dates: NOAA 1991-2020 normals.
Fall color over the French Broad River from Chimney Rocks in Cherokee National Forest near Del Rio, Tennessee
USDA plant hardiness zone map of Tennessee
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.
Tennessee 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.
Planting zone for every Tennessee county
| County | Main zone | Zones in county | Average coldest night | Last frost (50%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Mar 31 |
| Bedford | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Benton | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Bledsoe | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 11 |
| Blount | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 1 |
| Bradley | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| Campbell | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 18 |
| Cannon | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 17 |
| Carroll | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 2 |
| Carter | 7a | 6b, 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 19 |
| Cheatham | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 11 |
| Chester | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| Claiborne | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 23 |
| Clay | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 20 |
| Cocke | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Coffee | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 13 |
| Crockett | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 28 |
| Cumberland | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 16 |
| Davidson | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 1 |
| DeKalb | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 18 |
| Decatur | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Dickson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 13 |
| Dyer | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 28 |
| Fayette | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Fentress | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 17 |
| Franklin | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| Gibson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 4 |
| Giles | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 14 |
| Grainger | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Mar 31 |
| Greene | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 20 |
| Grundy | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 21 |
| Hamblen | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| Hamilton | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 7 |
| Hancock | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 14 |
| Hardeman | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Hardin | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Mar 31 |
| Hawkins | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 14 |
| Haywood | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Henderson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Henry | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Hickman | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 11 |
| Houston | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Humphreys | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 2 |
| Jackson | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 20 |
| Jefferson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 24 |
| Johnson | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 27 |
| Knox | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 11 |
| Lake | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Lauderdale | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 26 |
| Lawrence | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 8 |
| Lewis | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Lincoln | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Loudon | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Macon | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Madison | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 2 |
| Marion | 7b | 7a, 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 26 |
| Marshall | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 14 |
| Maury | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| McMinn | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| McNairy | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| Meigs | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 4 |
| Monroe | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 13 |
| Montgomery | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| Moore | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 15 |
| Morgan | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 21 |
| Obion | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Overton | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 12 |
| Perry | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 12 |
| Pickett | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 12 |
| Polk | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| Putnam | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 14 |
| Rhea | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 11 |
| Roane | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Robertson | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 9 |
| Rutherford | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 9 |
| Scott | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 23 |
| Sequatchie | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Mar 26 |
| Sevier | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 17 |
| Shelby | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Smith | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| Stewart | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 4 |
| Sullivan | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 16 |
| Sumner | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 16 |
| Tipton | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Trousdale | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 12 |
| Unicoi | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 21 |
| Union | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 22 |
| Van Buren | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 21 |
| Warren | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Washington | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 21 |
| Wayne | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 14 |
| Weakley | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| White | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 15 |
| Williamson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 3 |
| Wilson | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
When to plant in Tennessee: crop by crop
Planting dates for each crop in Tennessee, from the UT Extension calendar.
Tennessee planting zone questions
What planting zone is Tennessee?
Tennessee has USDA plant hardiness zones 6b to 8a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 7b (69 of 95 counties), then 7a (20).
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 Tennessee frost dates and the Tennessee 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.
Photos: Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Mixed pine and hardwood forest on Brush Mountain in the Citico Creek Wilderness, Tennessee: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Fall color over the French Broad River from Chimney Rocks in Cherokee National Forest near Del Rio, Tennessee: AppalachianCentrist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Staked tomato plant in a straw-mulched kitchen garden with green and ripening red tomatoes: NPS, Public domain, 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; Harvested zucchini and summer squash: nociveglia from Appennino Emiliano, Italy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green and red leaf lettuce heads growing along drip lines in a garden bed: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Pea plants growing up supports in a garden: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Young watermelon plant in a garden: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons; Harvested pumpkins and squash in a garden: Lolailand, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.