Gardening in the Mid-Atlantic: Zones 6–7 Regional Guide

title: "Gardening in the Mid-Atlantic: Zones 6–7 Regional Guide"

The Mid-Atlantic sits at the hinge point of American horticulture. It is warm enough to grow marginal plants that fail farther north and cool enough to satisfy the chilling requirements that tropical climates cannot deliver. Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Washington D.C., and the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania share zones 6a through 7b, with coastal Virginia and the Eastern Shore nudging toward zone 8 in some years.

I garden an hour north of this region, in Melville, Long Island (zone 7a), and many of the conditions described here match my experience closely—the deer pressure, the clay-loam soils of the piedmont, the summer humidity. Where Mid-Atlantic conditions diverge from Long Island, I draw on University of Maryland Extension, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, and Delaware Cooperative Extension.

This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we have personally tested or that are the universal first recommendation from university Extension publications. See our full disclosure.

Table of Contents

1. USDA Zones and Regional Geography
2. Soil: Piedmont Clay to Coastal Sand
3. First and Last Frost Dates
4. Seasonal Planting Calendar
5. What Grows Best in the Mid-Atlantic
6. What Does Not Work
7. Pest Pressure
8. Disease Pressure
9. Native Plant Recommendations
10. Frequently Asked

—-