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Zone 9a: What Grows and How to Garden There

Zone 9a gardens in north Florida, the Gulf Coast and central Texas grow cold-hardy citrus, figs, loquats, moderate-chill peaches, rabbiteye blueberries, camellias, azaleas and naturalizing Southern bulbs. Tulips and peonies struggle without a real winter. In Seattle and Portland, also zone 9a, cool summers matter more than winter cold.

Coldest winter night
20 to 25°F
ZIP codes in the zone
1,767
Typical last frost
March 2
Typical first frost
November 26
Frost-free season
About 270 days

Frost dates in zone 9a

Hardiness zones measure winter cold, so places in one zone can have quite different springs. Across zone 9a, the typical last frost ranges from about February 13 to March 21, and the first fall frost from November 14 to December 9 (the earliest and latest tenth of ZIP codes). For a typical place in the zone:

  • February 4Risky: a later frost happens in 9 years out of 10
  • March 2Typical last frost
  • March 25Safe: a later frost only 1 year in 10

What a zone 9a winter means

Freezes in zone 9a are infrequent and usually brief, but most winters still bring a few frosty nights. That is cold enough to limit citrus to the hardiest types and to give moderate-chill fruit trees the dormancy they need, but too mild for plants that depend on a long, cold winter. UF/IFAS counted about 778 chill units at Tallahassee and 646 near Gainesville in the 2010-11 winter, and Texas A&M AgriLife puts Austin at 550-850 chill hours.

Where zone 9a is

Zone 9a includes Austin, Round Rock, New Braunfels, College Station and Conroe in Texas; Baton Rouge and Lafayette in Louisiana; Mobile; Tallahassee and Gainesville in north Florida; Savannah and coastal Georgia; and Charleston. In the desert West it includes Tucson and parts of the Las Vegas valley, and in California the high desert around Palmdale. In the Pacific Northwest it covers Seattle, Kent and much of the Puget Sound lowland, and Portland.

Fruit

  • Citrus: stick to the cold-hardy kinds in the FAQ. UF/IFAS calls acid citrus such as limes very cold-sensitive.
  • Peaches: moderate-chill UF/UGA cultivars in north Florida; in central Texas, cultivars matched to 550-850 hours.
  • Blueberries: UF/IFAS says rabbiteye grows where winters are as cold as or colder than Ocala; it lists ‘Brightwell’, ‘Powderblue’, ‘Tifblue’ and ‘Woodard’ for north Florida.
  • Figs and loquats: figs need only about 100 chill hours; loquats flower in fall and winter, so a hard freeze can take that year’s crop.

Perennials, bulbs and shrubs

Camellias, azaleas and crape myrtles thrive. For bulbs, Texas A&M and UF/IFAS recommend those that need no chilling and return each year, such as paperwhite and other tazetta narcissus, crinum, rain lilies, amaryllis and oxblood lily. Clemson notes peonies often fail in zones 8 and 9 for lack of chill, and LSU says lilacs do not succeed in south Louisiana.

Special concerns

  • Summer heat: UF/IFAS says large-fruited tomatoes stop setting fruit once nights average about 80°F, so plant in late winter or early spring. Cherry types keep producing longer.
  • Seattle and Portland: cool summers delay tomatoes, but WSU notes mild winters allow fall and winter harvests of hardy vegetables in well-drained beds. Oregon State recommends early and parthenocarpic tomato cultivars.

What to plant each month in zone 9a

For a typical place in the zone. Your own dates may be a couple of weeks earlier or later; enter your ZIP code to see them.

  1. January

    Start indoors: basil, black-eyed susans, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, celery, chives, cilantro, collard greens, eggplants, ginger, leeks, lettuce, marigolds, nasturtiums, oregano, parsley, peppers, petunias, ranunculus, rosemary, sage, snapdragons, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, black-eyed susans, blueberries, garlic, grapes, grass seed, green onions, hollyhocks, kale, onions, peas, poppies, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, turnips, wildflowers

  2. February

    Start indoors: basil, cantaloupes, cilantro, cosmos, cucumbers, marigolds, nasturtiums, okra, pumpkins, ranunculus, watermelons, winter squash, zucchini

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, beets, black-eyed susans, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, chives, cilantro, collard greens, dahlias, dill, figs, garlic, gladioli, grapes, grass seed, green onions, hollyhocks, kale, kentucky bluegrass, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, poppies, potatoes, radishes, ranunculus, raspberries, rhubarb, roses, snapdragons, spinach, strawberries, sweet peas, swiss chard, tall fescue, turnips, wildflowers

  3. March

    Start indoors: cosmos, okra, pumpkins, winter squash, zinnias

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, basil, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, chives, cilantro, cucumbers, dahlias, dill, eggplants, figs, garden mums, ginger, gladioli, grapes, green beans, green onions, kentucky bluegrass, lavenders, leeks, lettuce, lilies, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, oregano, parsley, peppers, petunias, pumpkins, ranunculus, rosemary, roses, sage, snapdragons, spinach, sunflowers, sweet corn, sweet peas, swiss chard, tall fescue, thyme, tomatoes, watermelons, winter squash, zucchini

  4. April

    Start indoors: zinnias

    Plant or sow outdoors: bermudagrass, celery, centipedegrass, cosmos, okra, peanuts, st. augustinegrass, sweet potatoes, zinnias, zoysiagrass

  5. May

    Plant or sow outdoors: bermudagrass, centipedegrass, st. augustinegrass, zinnias, zoysiagrass

  6. August

    Plant for fall: brussels sprouts, collard greens, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, swiss chard, tomatoes

  7. September

    Plant for fall: bearded irises, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, cucumbers, daylilies, green beans, kale, lettuce, peas, peppers, radishes, snapdragons, spinach, swiss chard, turnips, zucchini

  8. October

    Plant for fall: azaleas, bearded irises, beets, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, clematis, coneflowers, crocuses, daffodils, daylilies, grass seed, hostas, hyacinths, hydrangeas, kale, kentucky bluegrass, lettuce, lilies, ornamental alliums, peonies, perennial ryegrass, radishes, roses, saffron, snapdragons, spinach, tall fescue, tulips, turnips

  9. November

    Start indoors: onions

    Plant for fall: crocuses, daffodils, daylilies, garlic, hyacinths, lilies, ornamental alliums, peonies, tulips

  10. December

    Start indoors: broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, leeks, onions, oregano, parsley, peppers, petunias, ranunculus, rosemary, snapdragons

    Plant for fall: crocuses, garlic, hyacinths, ornamental alliums, tulips

Planting schedules for zone 9a

Where zone 9a is

States with zone 9a ZIP codes, the largest first: Texas, Louisiana, Florida, California, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, Nevada, Mississippi, North Carolina.

Largest cities in zone 9a

Zone 8bZone 9bAll zones and the zone finder

Questions

Which citrus can I grow in zone 9a?

The cold-hardy types: satsuma (to about 14°F), kumquat (16°F), 'Sugar Belle' mandarin (18°F) and calamondin (22°F), according to UF/IFAS, plus 'Meyer' lemon. Avoid limes and true lemons in the ground, and avoid low spots where cold air settles. In Tucson, Arizona Extension advises sites with good cold-air drainage, such as slopes.

Which peaches grow in north Florida and the Gulf Coast?

Moderate-chill cultivars. UF/IFAS recommends the 'Gulfprince', 'Gulfking', 'Gulfcrest' and 'Gulfcrimson' series (350-525 chill units) for north Florida and south Georgia, though 'Gulfcrest' may not get enough chill in Gainesville in most winters.

Can I grow tulips in zone 9a?

As annuals. Winters are too warm for tulips to rebloom. UF/IFAS and LSU recommend buying bulbs, refrigerating them for at least 6-8 weeks, and planting in late December or early January. Paperwhites, crinums and rain lilies are better long-term bulbs.