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Zone 6 Plants

USDA hardiness zone 6 covers places where an average winter bottoms out at -10 to 0°F. 2,436 species in our library survive it. Below is a sample of them, with mature size, spacing and a nursery price estimate.

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Zone 6a and zone 6b

Both halves grow the same plants — hardiness ranges in our library are whole numbers — but they are not the same winter. Zone 6a bottoms out around -10 to -5°F and 6b around -5 to 0°F. The colder half freezes earlier in autumn and thaws later in spring, so the same plant goes in the ground a week or two later there.

What is actually hard about zone 6

Zone 6 has the opposite problem: almost everything works. Our library lists more species for zone 6 than for any zone colder than it, so the question is not what survives but what belongs together — how big things get, how far apart they go, and what is still worth looking at in February.

Showing 36 of 2,436, sorted to span the back, middle and front of a bed.

Zone 6

Typical annual minimum temperature: -10 to 0°F

2,436 species in our library match this zone and light

  • Abeto Coreano

    Abies koreana

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    6–12 ft
    Mature height
    15–50 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Rockspray

    Cotoneaster horizontalis

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    6–8 ft
    Mature height
    2–3 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Fraser's Sedge

    Carex fraseriana

    grass
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1.5–2 ft
    Mature height
    1–1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Japanese Spikenard

    Aralia cordata 'Sun King'

    perennial
    Zones
    4–8
    Spacing
    3–6 ft
    Mature height
    3–6 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Blue False Indigo

    Baptisia australis

    perennial
    Zones
    3–9
    Spacing
    3–4 ft
    Mature height
    3–4 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Creeping Phlox

    Phlox subulata

    groundcover
    Zones
    3–9
    Spacing
    1–3 ft
    Mature height
    0.25–0.5 ft
    Est. price
    $5–12

  • Japanese Striped-Bark Maple

    Acer capillipes

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    30–40 ft
    Mature height
    30–35 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Littleleaf Cotoneaster

    Cotoneaster microphyllus

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    6–8 ft
    Mature height
    2–3 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Calamint

    Clinopodium nepeta

    perennial
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1–2 ft
    Mature height
    1–1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20
  • Northwind Switchgrass

    Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'

    grass
    Zones
    5–9
    Spacing
    2–3 ft
    Mature height
    4–5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Bleeding Heart

    Lamprocapnos spectabilis

    perennial
    Zones
    3–9
    Spacing
    1–3 ft
    Mature height
    2–3 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Cimbru

    Satureja hortensis

    perennial
    Zones
    2–11
    Spacing
    1–3 ft
    Mature height
    1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Cappadocian Maple

    Acer cappadocicum

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    20–25 ft
    Mature height
    25–30 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Blue Daphne

    Daphne genkwa

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1.5 ft
    Mature height
    3–5 ft
    Est. price
    $40–85

  • Aspen Fleabane

    Erigeron speciosus

    perennial
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1–2 ft
    Mature height
    1–2 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Flying Saucers

    Ipomoea tricolor

    vine
    Zones
    2–12
    Spacing
    3–6 ft
    Mature height
    8–10 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Eastern Red Columbine

    Aquilegia canadensis

    perennial
    Zones
    3–8
    Spacing
    1–1.5 ft
    Mature height
    2–3 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Blunt-lobed Cliff Fern

    Woodsia obtusa

    perennial
    Zones
    1–10
    Spacing
    2–2.5 ft
    Mature height
    1–1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Pere David's Maple

    Acer davidii

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    20–40 ft
    Mature height
    30–50 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Kirilow Indigo

    Indigofera kirilowii

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    3–4 ft
    Mature height
    2–3 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Hardy Gloxinia

    Incarvillea

    perennial
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1.5–2 ft
    Mature height
    1.5–2 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Everlasting Pea

    Lathyrus

    vine
    Zones
    2–11
    Spacing
    1–3 ft
    Mature height
    1–9 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Deutschland Astilbe

    Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland'

    perennial
    Zones
    4–9
    Spacing
    1.5–2 ft
    Mature height
    1.5–2 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Cranesbill

    Geranium maculatum

    groundcover
    Zones
    3–11
    Spacing
    1–1.5 ft
    Mature height
    1.17–1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Devil Maple

    Acer diabolicum

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    20–40 ft
    Mature height
    20–30 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Gold Cone Juniper

    Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone'

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    1–2 ft
    Mature height
    3–5 ft
    Est. price
    $40–85

  • American Twinleaf

    Jeffersonia diphylla

    groundcover
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    0.5–0.75 ft
    Mature height
    0.75–1.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Virginia Creeper

    Parthenocissus quinquefolia

    vine
    Zones
    3–10
    Spacing
    5–10 ft
    Mature height
    30–50 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Eastern Wood Fern

    Dryopteris marginalis

    perennial
    Zones
    3–8
    Spacing
    1.5–3 ft
    Mature height
    1.5–2 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Ajuga

    Ajuga reptans

    groundcover
    Zones
    3–10
    Spacing
    0.5–1 ft
    Mature height
    0.5–1 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Fullmoon Maple

    Acer japonicum

    tree
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    15–30 ft
    Mature height
    15–30 ft
    Est. price
    $150–260

  • Chinese Neillia

    Neillia sinensis

    shrub
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    0–6 ft
    Mature height
    5–6 ft
    Est. price
    $40–85

  • Dwarf Dandelion

    Krigia montana

    perennial
    Zones
    5–7
    Spacing
    0.5–1 ft
    Mature height
    0.67–1.67 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Baltimore Belle rose

    Rosa 'Belle de Baltimore'

    perennial
    Zones
    4–11
    Spacing
    6–10 ft
    Mature height
    8–13 ft
    Est. price
    $24–55

  • Blazing Star 'Kobold'

    Liatris spicata 'Kobold'

    perennial
    Zones
    3–8
    Spacing
    0.5–1 ft
    Mature height
    1.5–2.5 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

  • Alpine Violet

    Cyclamen

    perennial
    Zones
    4–11
    Spacing
    0.67–1 ft
    Mature height
    0.33–1 ft
    Est. price
    $8–20

Put these in your own yard

Upload a photo of the space and get a design back using plants that survive your winter.

Design a garden for zone 6

Neighbouring zones

Zone 5 — one step colderZone 7 — one step milder

Where these numbers come from

Zone boundaries come from PRISM Climate Group's 2023 plant-hardiness dataset at Oregon State University, covering 40,502 US ZIP codes. Hardiness range, light requirement and mature size are checked against the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

Price is an estimate sampled from published 2026 nursery price lists by container size, and varies by region, season and supplier. This is not the official USDA map and it cannot account for soil, drainage, wind, local microclimates or planting restrictions. Confirm a final purchase with a local nursery.