{"id":25468,"date":"2024-06-28T18:13:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T18:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/?p=25468"},"modified":"2025-07-09T18:12:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:12:58","slug":"planting-zones-maine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-maine\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting Zones of Maine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maine spans USDA plant hardiness zones 3b to 7a. Specifically, with their oceanic influence, Maine&#8217;s coastal areas fall into warmer zones ranging from Zone 6 to 7a, while inland areas experience colder temperatures, landing between Zones 3 and 5.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So why exactly do these zones matter? Well, every plant has specific temperature tolerances. This means that not every plant likes growing everywhere. Each zone consists of a range of minimum temperatures that plants will most likely survive in during the winter season.<\/p>   <div class=\"wp-block-ub-table-of-contents-block ub_table-of-contents\" id=\"ub_table-of-contents-05798e01-de18-40d4-a42f-49e0d1b0e5f4\" data-linktodivider=\"false\" data-showtext=\"show\" data-hidetext=\"hide\" data-scrolltype=\"auto\" data-enablesmoothscroll=\"false\" data-initiallyhideonmobile=\"false\" data-initiallyshow=\"true\"><div class=\"ub_table-of-contents-header-container\" style=\"\"> \t\t\t<div class=\"ub_table-of-contents-header\" style=\"text-align: left; \"> \t\t\t\t<div class=\"ub_table-of-contents-title\" style=\"\">In this article:<\/div> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><div class=\"ub_table-of-contents-extra-container\" style=\"\"> \t\t\t<div class=\"ub_table-of-contents-container ub_table-of-contents-1-column\"> \t\t\t\t<ul style=\"\"><li style=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-maine\/#0-maine-planting-zone-map\" style=\"\">Maine planting zone map<\/a><\/li><li style=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-maine\/#1-planting-zones-of-maine-by-region\" style=\"\">Planting zones of Maine by region<\/a><\/li><li style=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-maine\/#2-maines-planting-zones-explained\" style=\"\">Maine&#8217;s planting zones explained<\/a><\/li><li style=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-maine\/#3-faq\" style=\"\">FAQ<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>   <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"0-maine-planting-zone-map\"><span id=\"maine-planting-zone-map\">Maine planting zone map<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help you visualize the planting zones in Maine, here\u2019s a map of the state with the planting zones clearly marked:<\/p>    <figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Maine USDA Plant hardiness map\" class=\"wp-image-25476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1-791x1024.jpg 791w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1-610x789.jpg 610w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Maine-USDA-Map-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/planthardiness.ars.usda.gov\/system\/files\/ME300_HS.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-planting-zones-of-maine-by-region\"><span id=\"planting-zones-of-maine-by-region\">Planting zones of Maine by region<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maine is divided into several planting zones, ranging from zone 3b in the northernmost parts of the state to zone 7a in the southernmost coastal areas. Here\u2019s a brief overview of the planting zones in Maine\u2019s main regions:<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Southern Maine<\/strong>: This region is primarily in zone 5a through 6a, with some areas along the coast falling in zone 6b and even 7a in the outer reaches of the Penobscot Bay area.<\/li>    <li><strong>Northern Maine<\/strong>: The majority of northern Maine is in zones 3b and 4a, with some areas in the northern tip and southern part of the region reaching zones 4b and 5a.<\/li>    <li><strong>Central Maine<\/strong>: Most of central Maine is in zones 4b and 5a, with some small areas in zones 4a, 5b, and 6a scattered throughout.<\/li> <\/ul>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more detailed information about specific planting zones in each region, you can check out our articles:<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-southern-maine\/\">Planting Zones of Southern Maine<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-northern-maine\/\">Planting Zones of Northern Maine<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/planting-zones-central-maine\/\">Planting Zones of Central Maine<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-maines-planting-zones-explained\"><span id=\"maines-planting-zones-explained\">Maine&#8217;s planting zones explained<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The USDA has classified regions across the country into plant hardiness zones based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperatures over a 30-year period. Each zone represents a 10-degree Fahrenheit range of these extreme minimum temperatures. The \u201ca\u201d and \u201db\u201d divisions, or half-zones, within these zones indicate subtle variations of 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Here are the temperature ranges for each zone in Maine:<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>Zone 3b: -35 to -30\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 4a: -30 to -25\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 4b: -25 to -20\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 5a: -20 to -15\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 5b: -15 to -10\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 6a: -10 to -5\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 6b: -5 to 0\u00b0F<\/li>    <li>Zone 7a: 0 to 5\u00b0F<\/li> <\/ul>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hardiness zones show which plants will survive winter in a specific region. For example, a plant listed as &#8220;hardy to zone 5b&#8221; can tolerate temperatures between -15 and -10 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep in mind that even though a specific plant or grass seed can survive in multiple zones, the timings for sowing, seedling transplantation, and harvesting can vary by zone. You can check out these articles for more information:<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/best-grass-seed-maine\/\">Best Grass Seed for Maine Lawns<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/when-to-plant-grass-seed-maine\/\">Best Time to Plant Grass Seed in Maine<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-faq\"><span id=\"faq\">FAQ<\/span><\/h2>    <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-how-reliable-are-the-plant-hardiness-zones-for-determining-plant-survival-in-maine\"><span id=\"how-reliable-are-the-plant-hardiness-zones-for-determining-plant-survival-in-maine\">How reliable are the plant hardiness zones for determining plant survival in Maine?<\/span><\/h3>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the USDA hardiness zones are a good baseline for winter survival, they don\u2019t consider other important aspects such as soil type, summer heat levels, snow, or rainfall. They should be used as guidance rather than definite advice on plant survival.<\/p>    <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-is-maine-colder-than-alaska\"><span id=\"is-maine-colder-than-alaska\">Is Maine colder than Alaska?<\/span><\/h3>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surprisingly, certain parts of northern Maine might experience colder temperatures than some areas in Alaska during winter. However, the coldest recorded temperature in northern Maine was -50 degrees F in 2009, while Alaska\u2019s record is much lower at -80 degrees F.<\/p>    <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"6-what-are-the-best-fruits-and-vegetables-for-maines-climate-zones-\"><span id=\"what-are-the-best-fruits-and-vegetables-for-maines-climate-zones\">What are the best fruits and vegetables for Maine&#8217;s climate zones?&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some of the best fruits and vegetables to grow in Maine&#8217;s climate zones:<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fruits and vegetables that grow well across all Maine zones:<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Fruits<\/strong>: Apples (cold-hardy varieties like Honeycrisp, Zestar, and Liberty), strawberries, raspberries<\/li>    <li><strong>Vegetables<\/strong>: Beets, carrots, lettuce and salad greens, spinach, peas, radishes, potatoes<\/li> <\/ul>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zone-specific recommendations:<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zones 3-4 (northern Maine):<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>Cold-hardy apple varieties like Idared, Dolgo, Beacon, Haralson<\/li>    <li>Cold-hardy root crops like turnips, rutabaga, parsnips<\/li>    <li>Quick-maturing greens like arugula, mustard greens<\/li> <\/ul>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zones 5-7 (central and southern Maine):<\/p>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Fruits<\/strong>: Blueberries, pears (Harrow Delight, Maxine, Golden Spice, and Seckel varieties), peaches (Red Haven or Reliance varieties)<\/li>    <li><strong>Vegetables<\/strong>: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant<\/li> <\/ul>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"7-call-a-lawn-care-pro-for-help\"><span id=\"call-a-lawn-care-pro-for-help\">Call a lawn care pro for help<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the specific details about planting zones? Not quite sure how these guidelines translate to your backyard gardening situation? That\u2019s okay. With this diverse climate, growing conditions in Maine can certainly seem complicated.&nbsp;If you&#8217;re unsure where to start, we can help you <a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/maine\">connect with a local lawn care pro<\/a> who can help sort out these details.<\/p>   <div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle wp-block-ub-content-toggle-block\" id=\"ub-content-toggle-block-068cc16b-e1a5-4e6b-a7f3-eccdb294547c\" data-mobilecollapse=\"true\" data-desktopcollapse=\"true\" data-preventcollapse=\"false\" data-showonlyone=\"false\"> <div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion\" style=\"border-color: #f1f1f1; border-top-left-radius: 8px; border-top-right-radius: 8px; border-bottom-left-radius: 8px; border-bottom-right-radius: 8px; \" id=\"ub-content-toggle-panel-block-e8e8258c-fa73-48ec-a507-45f1c63a1ce1\"> \t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-title-wrap\" style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\" aria-controls=\"ub-content-toggle-panel-0-068cc16b-e1a5-4e6b-a7f3-eccdb294547c\" tabindex=\"0\"> \t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-title ub-content-toggle-title-068cc16b-e1a5-4e6b-a7f3-eccdb294547c\" style=\"color: #000000; \">Sources<\/p> \t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-toggle-wrap right\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-state-indicator wp-block-ub-chevron-down\"><\/span><\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-content-wrap ub-hide\" id=\"ub-content-toggle-panel-0-068cc16b-e1a5-4e6b-a7f3-eccdb294547c\">  <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maineclimatenews\/archives\/fall-2009\/maines-weather-2009\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The University of Maine<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gi.alaska.edu\/alaska-science-forum\/alaskas-all-time-cold-record-turns-50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of Alaska Fairbanks<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>  <\/div> \t\t<\/div> <\/div>   <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Main Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.m.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:John_Brewer_House,_Robbinston,_Maine_2012.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ken Gallager<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maine spans USDA plant hardiness zones 3b to 7a, with coastal areas being warmer (Zones 6-7a) due to oceanic influence and colder inland areas (Zones 3-5).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":25486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[132,542],"class_list":["post-25468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maine","tag-gardening","tag-lawn-care-me"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/house-in-maine-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Adrian Nita","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/adrian-nita\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40081,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25468\/revisions\/40081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}