{"id":259293,"date":"2026-04-09T12:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259293\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:37:14","slug":"what-to-plant-in-fresno-county-ca-spring-garden-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259293\/","title":{"rendered":"What to plant in Fresno County CA: Spring garden tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Itching to garden now that spring is in full swing?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the perfect time to plant in Fresno County, according to Scott Miller, owner of Fresno plant nursery<\/a> Gazebo Gardens<\/a> and CEO of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now is a pretty good time to plant just about everything in our area,\u201d Miller told The Fresno Bee in an email. \u201cIt\u2019s the sweet spot for establishing plants \u2026 still cool enough for most plants to grow quickly, but past any realistic danger of frost.\u201d<\/p>\n

With its nutrient-rich soil and long, sunny days, California\u2019s Central Valley is \u201cone of the greatest places on earth to grow a garden,\u201d Miller added.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about spring and summer gardening in Fresno:<\/p>\n

\"Gazebo Gazebo Gardens, with its expansive nursery located on the corner of Shields and Van Ness, is also known for its community get-togethers, food truck nights, beer garden and live music. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com What makes Fresno ideal for gardening and growing food?<\/p>\n

\u201cFresno County is home to 1.88 million acres of the world\u2019s most productive farmland,\u201d the Fresno County Farm Bureau<\/a> said on its website.<\/p>\n

More than 350 crops come from the Fresno area, the farm bureau said, noting that many of them aren\u2019t grown commercially anywhere else in the United States.<\/p>\n

Fresno County supplies much of the nation\u2019s almonds, grapes, and pistachios.<\/p>\n

The area\u2019s semi-arid Mediterranean climate, with its warm, dry summers and cool, mild winters, make it ideal for year\u2013round agriculture.<\/p>\n

\"Melons Melons in a field at a melon farm outside of Firebaugh on Sept. 11, 2025. Larry Valenzuela CalMatters\/CatchLight Local What plant hardiness zone is Fresno County in?<\/p>\n

Most of Fresno County is in Zone 9, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s plant hardiness zone map.<\/a><\/p>\n

That \u201cgives us distinct advantages for year-round gardening<\/a>,\u201d the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources in Davis said.<\/p>\n

According to UC Davis, the Fresno area enjoys 246 frost-free days a year, featuring temperatures of 32 degrees or higher, and 300 days with temperatures at 28 degrees or higher, giving gardeners more opportunities to extend the growing season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no region in the world with the agricultural output per square mile that we have in the Central Valley,\u201d Miller said. \u201cOur area produces nearly 50% of the country\u2019s fruits, vegetables and nuts …. We have some of the best soil in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, long story short, we have lots of options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brian Brian Melton holds two boxes of figs in his front yard Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com How does Fresno County compare to rest of US?<\/p>\n

Seasoned gardeners may already know to consult the USDA plant hardiness map to determine where and whether a plant may survive the winter.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re hoping to get some new plants in the ground this spring that will thrive in summer, you might want to take the overall climate into account, too, according to Sunset magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cA plant\u2019s performance is governed by the total climate: length of growing season, timing and amount of rainfall, winter lows, summer highs, humidity,\u201d Sunset said in its guide to gardening in the West<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although the plant hardiness map will tell you where a plant may survive the winter, Sunset said its \u201cclimate zone maps let you see where that plant will thrive year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fresno County tends to be warmer and drier than many other areas of the country, even in winter, according to the USDA\u2019s 2023 plant hardiness zone map<\/a> for Southern California.<\/p>\n

According to the 2023 map, Fresno is part of Zone 9b, meaning that it has an average minimum winter temperature of 25 to 30 degrees.<\/p>\n

Other areas that fall into the warmer half of the zone include central Florida, coastal California and the Desert Southwest, the publication said.<\/p>\n

\"a360 Tomatoes are a popular option for gardeners in Fresno County. Nick Rains Which fruits, veggies and herbs should I plant in Fresno?<\/p>\n

Gardeners in Zone 9 should focus on \u201cdrought-tolerant and sun-loving plants<\/a>,\u201d according to a MasterClass article on Zone 9 gardening.<\/p>\n

Those include chives, hibiscus, kiwi, okra, and pumpkins, MasterClass said, noting that some of these crops require lots of water.<\/p>\n

Miller recommends planting pomegranates, figs, olives and grapes \u2014 all traditional Fresno County commercial crops that require little extra water once they\u2019re established.<\/p>\n

Many herbs, such as rosemary, oregano, and thyme, \u201care particularly drought tolerant but will need some watering during the hottest months,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

Some of the \u201cmost popular items this time of year would be all varieties of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, Armenian cucumbers and most herbs,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

\"Popular Popular flowers in Fresno include zinnias. Photo by Nancy Hughes on Unsplash Which flowers grow best in Fresno?<\/p>\n

Miller said he enjoys \u201ca mixture of food crops and flowers\u201d in his home garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll plant things like tomatoes, peppers, zinnias, roses and culinary herbs all in the same bed,\u201d he said. \u201cOther people like a more organized, formal look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as you mix plants with similar cultural needs\u201d such as water, fertilizer and sun exposure, \u201cthere\u2019s no wrong way to (do) it, as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The most popular annual flowers this time of year are begonias, zinnias and vincas, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Red Red Fuji apples are seen at The Orchard at Meadow Lakes ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com What should I avoid planting in my Fresno garden?<\/p>\n

Your best bet is to avoid plants and trees \u201cat both ends of the weather spectrum,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe do still get frost, so no-frost tender (or) tropical crops like pineapples or mangoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a good idea to \u201cavoid fruit trees that need more chill hours than we get,\u201d he said, including most apple and pear varieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery yard is a bit different \u2026 (so) I\u2019d advise people to try new things every season and have a little fun with it,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThere\u2019s no feeling quite like making a meal with food harvested from your own back yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loading\u2026<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Brooke Baitinger<\/a><\/p>\n

McClatchy DC<\/p>\n

Brooke (they\/them) covers Fresno and California news as the Fresno Bee\u2019s service journalism reporter. They previously covered wildlife and national parks out west for the national real-time team at McClatchy News. Originally from Florida, they studied journalism at the University of Florida and previously covered LGBTQ+ news for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, their hometown newspaper. When they\u2019re not writing stories, they enjoy hanging out with their cats, riding horses or spending time outdoors.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Itching to garden now that spring is in full swing? It\u2019s the perfect time to plant in Fresno…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-259293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}