The region known as the Upper South is a wide ribbon stretching from Washington, D.C. to Oklahoma City. It includes most of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, southern parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, northern Arkansas and most of Oklahoma outside the panhandle.
Most of the Upper South is in USDA zones six and seven, although some mountain regions may be zone 5. The number of days over 86ºF can vary from as few as seven in the mountains to as many as 90 to 120 in parts of Oklahoma (AHS zones five to eight). Although it can get cold, most areas get little, if any, snow. Most of the precipitation comes as rain and there may be as much as 40 to 45 inches in a year. Oklahoma and other western parts of this area get less.
The growing season is very long in the warmer parts of this area. It may last from late March through November. Most of the area has had the last frost by the end of April, although mountain areas may not get it until late May.
