Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 45 ecoregions — 45 climate-resilient through 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

2"

Habit

Fast cool-season annual root vegetable; bolts to an upright flowering stalk

Care tips

•

Sow directly and harvest young — spring radishes can be ready in weeks; pull before the root turns woody and hot.

•

Keep moisture even and grow in the cool shoulders of the season (spring and fall); heat triggers bolting.

•

Watch for flea beetles on the foliage; floating row covers are an effective non-chemical defense.

Lifecycle

Planting

Best grown in full sun in loamy or sandy soils. Per Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder, seed directly in two-week intervals between mid-April and the first of May for a spring crop, and in August for a fall crop. A fast cool-season crop sown directly where it is to grow.

Transplanting

Radishes are direct-sown and resent transplanting — the taproot is the crop, so disturbing the root sets it back. Thin seedlings rather than moving them.

Early growth

Keep moisture even (PlantFinder lists "Medium" water) so roots swell steadily; uneven moisture and heat cause cracking, pithiness, and early bolting. Flea beetles and other Brassicaceae pests can be a problem — floating row covers are very useful (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Maturity

Radishes become tough and develop a hotter taste as they age. Harvest when young, before the roots bolt and become woody (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder). Bolted plants reach 2-3 feet with white-to-pale-violet flowers.

Propagation

Grown from seed. Plants left to bolt and flower set seed pods; seed-saving depends on isolating varieties because radish readily cross-pollinates.

Pollination

Self-incompatible

Radish (Raphanus sativus) is largely self-incompatible and outcrossing — it relies on insect cross-pollination between separate plants to set seed, which is why radish readily crosses between varieties. This matters only for seed-saving: the crop is harvested as a root long before it flowers, so pollination is irrelevant to a normal radish harvest. The small white-to-pale-violet flowers, when allowed to bolt, are visited by bees.

Plants don't grow alone

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

When radish is allowed to bolt, its white-to-pale-violet Brassicaceae flowers are worked by honey bees and other bees — radish is insect-pollinated and self-incompatible. Not relevant to a root harvest, since the crop is pulled long before flowering.

For people

Edible

Grown as a vegetable. Per Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder, the roots can be eaten raw, cooked, or pickled; the greens are also edible; and the young, tender sprouts can be eaten in salads, on sandwiches, or as a side dish. Roots are crisp and peppery when young, turning tough and hotter with age.

Edible parts

root, leaves, sprouts, seed pods

Culinary use

Roots eaten raw, cooked, or pickled; greens cooked or used in salads; young sprouts in salads, on sandwiches, or as a side dish (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Native range

AHS heat range

1-6

Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Raphanus sativus for USDA hardiness zones 2 to 11 in full sun with medium water and medium maintenance, grown as an annual vegetable.

•

A cool-season crop per Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder: seeded in two-week intervals from mid-April to early May for spring and in August for fall. Heat drives bolting and a hotter, woodier root, so summer sowings in hot-summer regions perform poorly.

•

Flea beetles and other pests typical of Brassicaceae crops can be a problem; floating row covers are very useful (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

In the designer

Growth over time

7-11" tall · 5-10" spread

Germinates and forms a leaf rosette within days of sowing.

Design roles: Edible

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Radish

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations