USDA zone 7a in Kansas
USDA plant hardiness zone 7a covers 31 locations across Kansas (average annual extreme minimum 0 to 5 °F): Altamont, KS, Anthony, KS, Augusta, KS, Baxter Springs, KS, Chanute, KS, Cherryvale, KS, and 25 more. Average last spring frost across this group ranges April 4 (Pittsburg) to April 25 (Hardtner), and growing seasons run 171–209 days (Hardtner to Pittsburg) — even within one state, because hardiness sets winter survival, not planting dates. The table below gives every Kansas location's own frost dates; the printable planting calendar uses Fredonia, this group's median-season location.
- USDA zone
- 7a0 to 5 °F
- Last frost range
- Apr 4–Apr 25avg, 32°F
- First frost range
- Oct 15–Nov 1avg, 32°F
- Growing season range
- 171–209days
Locations in this group
Every location below shares this zone and a nearby weather station, but keeps its own frost dates — find your town for its own numbers, or use the ZIP planner on the home page for an instant personalized answer.
| Location | Also covers | Nearest station | Last frost | First frost | Season (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altamont | Mound Valley, Welch, Edna, Bartlett | Mound Valley 3 Wsw | Apr 15 | Oct 24 | 192 |
| Anthony | Harper, Argonia, Attica, Bluff, Waldron, Amorita, +2 more | Anthony | Apr 9 | Oct 30 | 205 |
| Augusta | Rose Hill, Douglass, Rock | Smileyberg 1n | Apr 18 | Oct 21 | 185 |
| Baxter Springs | Columbus, Commerce, Riverton, Chetopa, Weir, Quapaw, +3 more | Columbus | Apr 5 | Oct 31 | 208 |
| Chanute | Erie, Altoona, Buffalo, Benedict | Chanute Martin Johnson Ap | Apr 10 | Oct 28 | 199 |
| Cherryvale | Dennis, Neodesha, Thayer | Parsons Tri City Ap | Apr 10 | Oct 26 | 197 |
| Coffeyville | Dearing, South Coffeyville, Tyro, Lenapah, Wann | Coffeyville Wtr Wks | Apr 6 | Nov 1 | 208 |
| Coldwater | — | Coldwater | Apr 13 | Oct 27 | 197 |
| Derby | Haysville, Mulvane, Peck | Haysville 3se | Apr 14 | Oct 22 | 189 |
| Fort Scott | Garland, Uniontown, Redfield | Ft Scott | Apr 5 | Oct 28 | 204 |
| Fredonia * | — | Fredonia | Apr 12 | Oct 26 | 197 |
| Hardtner | — | Wilmore 16se | Apr 25 | Oct 15 | 171 |
| Independence | Sycamore, Elk | Independence | Apr 5 | Oct 31 | 208 |
| Liberty | — | Coffeyville Muni Ap | Apr 6 | Oct 29 | 204 |
| Longton | Elk Falls, Grenola, Moline, Cambridge | Howard | Apr 17 | Oct 22 | 186 |
| Medicine Lodge | Kiowa, Hazelton, Sharon, Zenda, Nashville | Medicine Lodge | Apr 13 | Oct 23 | 191 |
| Milton | Cheney, Norwich | Norwich | Apr 12 | Oct 29 | 201 |
| Parkerfield | Oxford, Geuda Springs | Winfield Strother Fld Ap | Apr 11 | Oct 27 | 197 |
| Parsons | Oswego, St. Paul, Galesburg | Parsons 2 Nw | Apr 11 | Oct 26 | 196 |
| Pittsburg | Frontenac, Mindenmines, Girard, Franklin, Walnut, Arma, +6 more | Girard | Apr 4 | Nov 1 | 209 |
| Savonburg | — | Humboldt | Apr 11 | Oct 27 | 195 |
| Sedan | Cedar Vale, Chautauqua, Niotaze, Peru, Havana | Sedan | Apr 9 | Oct 27 | 199 |
| Sedgwick | Bentley | Newton | Apr 14 | Oct 25 | 193 |
| Spivey | Murdock | Kingman | Apr 15 | Oct 21 | 187 |
| Stark | — | Chanute 4e | Apr 8 | Oct 29 | 203 |
| Towanda | Leon, Beaumont | El Dorado | Apr 13 | Oct 25 | 193 |
| Wellington | Caldwell, South Haven, Conway Springs, Belle Plaine, Mayfield, Milan | Wellington | Apr 15 | Oct 29 | 195 |
| Wichita | Goddard, Clearwater, Viola | Wichita | Apr 11 | Oct 29 | 199 |
| Wichita | Maize, Colwich, Garden Plain, Andale | Wichita Wx | Apr 8 | Oct 27 | 200 |
| Wichita | Andover, Valley Center, Kechi, McConnell AFB, Benton, Greenwich | Wichita Jabara Ap | Apr 10 | Oct 27 | 198 |
| Winfield | Udall, Burden, Dexter | Winfield 3ne | Apr 16 | Oct 22 | 189 |
* Fredonia is this group's median-season location — the calendar below is computed from its data.
Data: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (public domain) and USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Planting windows synthesized from U.S. Cooperative Extension guides.
Planting calendar (Fredonia, representative)
Computed from Fredonia's average frost dates — the median-season location in this Kansaszone 7a group. hatched = start seeds indoors, solid green = plant out, teal = a fall sowing, and the terracotta dot marks the estimated first harvest. Ranges are extension-guide planning guidance, not guarantees — your own location's dates may run a week or two earlier or later (see the table above).
- Start indoors
- Plant out
- Fall sowing
- First harvest
| Crop | Frost tolerance | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest | Fall planting | Season fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Tender | Feb 15 – Mar 1 | Apr 19 – Apr 26 | Jun 18 – Jul 8 | — | matures comfortably |
| Pepper | Very tender | Feb 1 – Feb 15 | Apr 26 – May 3 | Jun 25 – Jul 25 | — | matures comfortably |
| Cucumber | Tender | Mar 15 – Mar 22 | Apr 19 – Apr 26 | Jun 8 – Jun 28 | — | matures comfortably |
| Summer squash / zucchini | Tender | — | Apr 19 – Apr 26 | Jun 3 – Jun 18 | — | matures comfortably |
| Bush bean | Tender | — | Apr 19 – Apr 26 | Jun 8 – Jun 18 | Aug 27 – Sep 6 | matures comfortably |
| Sweet corn | Tender | — | Apr 12 – Apr 26 | Jun 11 – Jul 11 | — | matures comfortably |
| Basil | Very tender | Mar 1 – Mar 15 | Apr 19 – Apr 26 | May 19 – Jun 3 | — | matures comfortably |
| Lettuce | Half-hardy | Mar 1 – Mar 15 | Mar 15 – Mar 29 | Apr 29 – May 14 | Aug 13 – Aug 28 | matures comfortably |
| Pea | Hardy | — | Mar 1 – Mar 15 | Apr 25 – May 10 | Aug 3 – Aug 18 | matures comfortably |
| Spinach | Hardy | — | Mar 1 – Mar 15 | Apr 10 – Apr 20 | Aug 23 – Sep 2 | matures comfortably |
| Carrot | Half-hardy | — | Mar 22 – Mar 29 | May 21 – Jun 10 | Jul 24 – Aug 13 | matures comfortably |
| Broccoli | Half-hardy | Feb 15 – Mar 1 | Mar 15 – Mar 29 | May 9 – May 29 | Jul 29 – Aug 18 | matures comfortably |
Which crops fit this growing season
Using Fredonia's own 197-day growing season (32°F, NOAA 1991–2020 median) against each crop's real days-to-maturity range: 12 of 12 crops mature here with comfortable margin. A different location in the table above with a longer or shorter season will get a different mix — the ZIP planner on the home page gives your own.
Frost & freeze dates (Fredonia)
From NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals at station USC00142894. The median (p50) is the average date; the 90%-safe column is the date the freeze has passed in about 9 years out of 10 — the conservative date to plant after or harvest before.
| Threshold | Last spring — avg | Last spring — 90%-safe | First fall — avg | First fall — 90%-safe | Season (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Apr 22 | May 4 | Oct 17 | Oct 30 | 176 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Apr 12 | Apr 26 | Oct 26 | Nov 7 | 197 |
| 28°F | Apr 1 | Apr 18 | Nov 3 | Nov 19 | 217 |
| 24°F | Mar 20 | Apr 5 | Nov 14 | Dec 2 | 238 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days (GDD) accumulate warmth above a base temperature over the year — a better predictor of crop development than the calendar alone. This group's median GDD (base 50°F) across all 31 locations is 4,429; Fredonia's own reading is shown below.
| Model | °F·days | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Base 50°F (warm-season) | 4,353 | standard warm-season base (tomato, corn, beans) |
| Base 40°F (cool-season) | 6,915 | cool-season crops (brassicas, greens) |
Hardiness zone 7a in Kansas
Zone 7a means an average annual extreme minimum winter temperature of about 0 to 5 °F on the USDA's 2023 map — the number that tells you which perennials, shrubs, and trees reliably survive an average winter here. It does not set your planting dates, which come from the frost calendar above. Kansas spans 3 hardiness zones in this dataset — see all Kansas locations for the full range, including zones6a, 6b.
Explore zone 7a in other states at zone 7a, or see all USDA hardiness zones.
Frequently asked questions
- What does USDA hardiness zone 7a mean in Kansas?
- Zone 7a means an average annual extreme minimum winter temperature of 0 to 5 °F — the standard USDA measure of which perennials survive winter. 31 locations in Kansas fall in this zone. It does not set planting dates; see the frost calendar below for that.
- Where in Kansas's zone 7a is the growing season longest?
- Pittsburg runs the longest season on this page at about 209 days; Hardtner is shortest at about 171 days — they share the same hardiness zone, but they sit at different weather stations, so their frost calendars differ.
- When should I plant tomatoes in Kansas's zone 7a?
- Using Fredonia's frost dates (this page's median-season location): start seeds indoors about Feb 15 – Mar 1, then transplant outside about Apr 19 – Apr 26. Your own location in the table above may differ by a week or two — use the ZIP planner on the home page for your exact station's dates.
- Does every location in Kansas's zone 7a have the same frost dates?
- No — they do not all share a weather station, so frost dates vary by a week or more across the 31 locations listed (see the table above for each location's own dates).
Sources & method
Frost, freeze, growing-season, and growing-degree-day figures are NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, one reading per location's own nearest station (see the table above). The hardiness zone is the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, matched to each location's ZIP. Planting windows are computed by counting from the average last and first frost using per-crop offsets synthesized from U.S. Cooperative Extension guides — the full method and citations are on the methodology page.