Growing Apples in Oklahoma: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
Oklahoma’s USDA zones 6a to 8a support apples statewide, but choosing chill-matched varieties and timing around spring frost determines whether trees actually bear fruit.
Gardening in Oklahoma
Everything we have worked out for Oklahoma: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Oklahoma City, the last spring freeze runs March 28 to April 10 and the first fall freeze runs October 29 to November 8, USDA zones 6a-8a, 5,375 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 13 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Oklahoma: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Heating a Home in Oklahoma: What the Winter Actually Costs
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Gardening in Oklahoma: What the Season Actually Allows
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Corn earworm in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Grasshoppers in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Spider mites in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Harlequin bug in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Squash bug in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
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Cucumber beetles in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Striped and spotted cucumber beetles start crawling out of Oklahoma soil the moment daytime temperatures push past 60°F, which usually lands somewhere…
Colorado potato beetle in Oklahoma: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetle adults start crawling out of Oklahoma soil as early as mid-March in the southern part of the state, sometimes even late February…