Curated shortlist
States to consider for a longer growing season
Growing conditions vary within every state and a longer season is not automatically better. This makes the published climate signals easy to compare before you look at a county or a specific garden.
How this shortlist works
Each listed measure receives equal weight after being scaled against the national range. A score only compares these states on these measures; it is not a quality grade.
Top states on this mix
Open a state to see its counties, sources and the measures behind the score.
- 1Florida65.1 match
- 2Arizona63.8 match
- 3Hawaii62.8 match
- 4California58.5 match
- 5New Mexico57.1 match
- 6Nevada53.9 match
- 7Texas52.9 match
- 8Louisiana52.1 match
- 9South Carolina48.5 match
- 10Alabama48.5 match
What the top five look like
| State | Growing season | Garden zone | Solar | Freezing days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 310 days | Zone 9b | 4.93 kWh/m² | 2 days |
| Arizona | 280 days | Zone 8a | 5.76 kWh/m² | 13 days |
| Hawaii | 217 days | Zone 9b | 5.66 kWh/m² | 10 days |
| California | 258 days | Zone 9a | 5.20 kWh/m² | 5 days |
| New Mexico | 182 days | Zone 7a | 5.56 kWh/m² | 111 days |
Make the shortlist yours
Change the weights, add your climate preference, or drop anything that does not matter to you.
Open in Find your fit →These measures have different source schedules. See each state profile's Data dates & sources disclosure and the methodology before making a decision.