Tennessee Planting Zones by City and ZIP Code
Tennessee runs from zones 6b to 8a; 70% of its ZIPs are 7b, Nashville is 7b and Memphis is 8a.
Tennessee runs from zones 6b to 8a
The coldest night of the winter averages -5°F to 0°F in the coldest of Tennessee’s ZIP codes and 10°F to 15°F in the warmest. Most of the state is zone 7b.
Planting zones of Tennessee cities
| City | Zone | Coldest night, on average | Since 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville37203 | 7b | 5°F to 10°F | half a zone warmer than 2012 (7a) |
| Memphis38103 | 8a | 10°F to 15°F | half a zone warmer than 2012 (7b) |
| Knoxville37902 | 7b | 5°F to 10°F | half a zone warmer than 2012 (7a) |
| Chattanooga37402 | 8a | 10°F to 15°F | half a zone warmer than 2012 (7b) |
| Johnson City37601 | 7b | 5°F to 10°F | half a zone warmer than 2012 (7a) |
| Jackson38301 | 7b | 5°F to 10°F | same as 2012 |
Tap a ZIP for that address’s frost dates and this month’s jobs.
Find your zone anywhere in Tennessee
A ZIP code or a town gives you its zone, how it moved since 2012, the frost dates at the nearest NOAA station, and the jobs for this month timed from them.
What to plant in Tennessee this month
The calendar for each of Tennessee's main zones, from vegetables to pruning and winter protection, each job tied to the extension page it comes from. Pick a month, or read the whole year below it.
Timed from the median frost dates of the 101 NOAA stations in Tennessee’s zone 7b: last spring frost Apr 7, first fall frost Oct 29. Your own ZIP’s frost dates move every window, so the ZIP tool times them for you.
Pick a month above to see every job in it.
The year at a glance
- Start vegetable seeds indoorsDec to Mar
- Sow vegetables in the gardenMar to Apr
- Sow the fall vegetable gardenJul to Sep
- Set out transplantsMar to Apr
- Plant trees and shrubsFeb 24 to Apr 21 and Oct 15 to Dec 3
- Plant garlicOct 15 to Nov 19
- Plant tulips and other spring bulbsNov 5 to Nov 12
- Divide fall-blooming perennialsMar 17 to Apr 28
- Divide spring and summer-blooming perennialsSep 17 to Oct 29
- Prune trees and summer-flowering shrubs while dormantJan 27 to Mar 10
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they bloomMar 24 to May 19
- Put hardware cloth around young tree trunksOct 29 to Dec 10
- Cut back perennials after a hard freezeNov 5 to Dec 3
What changed in Tennessee since 2012
Every ZIP on both mapsCompared ZIP by ZIP from the 2023 and 2012 USDA tables; 774 Tennessee ZIP codes appear in both.
Why Tennessee’s zones moved
Of the cities above, Nashville went from 7a to 7b, Memphis went from 7b to 8a, Knoxville went from 7a to 7b, Chattanooga went from 7b to 8a and Johnson City went from 7a to 7b.
The USDA explains the national picture: “When compared to the 2012 map, the 2023 version reveals that about half of the country shifted to the next warmer half zone, and the other half of the country remained in the same half zone.” The new map uses 1991 to 2020 and more than 13,000 weather stations, so it draws Tennessee’s hills, valleys and cities more finely than the 2012 map did.
A warmer zone changes which perennials and shrubs come through the winter, not when the garden gets planted; that still follows the frost dates.
Frost dates and seed starting in Tennessee
Tennessee planting zone questions
Planting zones by state
Sources. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code tables (2023 and 2012), PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA Agricultural Research Service, November 15, 2023); NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual/seasonal, by station (v1.0.1); NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Zones are read from the PRISM ZIP code tables, read Oct 9, 2026; a ZIP code’s zone is the zone at its center. The calendar’s extension sources are listed on the planting zones page and under each job.