Deconstruct SunJuneau, AK: Hardiness Zone 7a & Sunlight by Season
Juneau is in USDA hardiness zone 7a. Here’s what that means for winter, plus sunrise, sunset, daylight hours and the sun’s path through the year.
Zone 7a in Juneau
On the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Juneau falls in zone 7a. That means the coldest night of a typical winter drops to between 0 and 5 °F. Perennials, shrubs and trees labeled for zone 7a or colder (a lower number) should survive the winter here. Parts of the area sit near the boundary with zone 6b, so a sheltered courtyard or an exposed hilltop can behave like the neighboring zone.
A zone only covers winter cold. For a plant to do well it also needs the right amount of sun, and that varies far more from one corner of a yard to the next than the zone does across town.
This is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Zones are derived from the official 2023 dataset, resampled to about 2 km.
Nearby cities
- Anchorage, AK Zone 5b
- Fairbanks, AK Zone 2a
- Bellingham, WA Zone 8b
- Everett, WA Zone 8b
- Seattle, WA Zone 9a
- Bellevue, WA Zone 9a
- Kent, WA Zone 8b
- Tacoma, WA Zone 8b
The sun over Juneau
On the June solstice the sun rises in the northeast at 3:51 AM and climbs to 55° above the horizon at 12:59 PM. On the December solstice the noon sun reaches only 8°, so a 20-foot tree casts a noon shadow about 135 feet long. In June the same tree’s noon shadow is only 14 feet.
Sunrise, sunset & daylight by month
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Noon sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 | 8:23 AM | 3:55 PM | 7h 32m | 12° |
| Feb 21 | 7:13 AM | 5:09 PM | 9h 56m | 21° |
| Mar 21 | 6:55 AM | 7:14 PM | 12h 19m | 32° |
| Apr 21 | 5:29 AM | 8:25 PM | 14h 56m | 44° |
| May 21 | 4:19 AM | 9:30 PM | 17h 12m | 52° |
| Jun 21 | 3:51 AM | 10:07 PM | 18h 17m | 55° |
| Jul 21 | 4:27 AM | 9:39 PM | 17h 12m | 52° |
| Aug 21 | 5:33 AM | 8:26 PM | 14h 53m | 44° |
| Sep 21 | 6:40 AM | 6:59 PM | 12h 18m | 32° |
| Oct 21 | 7:47 AM | 5:35 PM | 9h 48m | 21° |
| Nov 21 | 7:59 AM | 3:26 PM | 7h 27m | 12° |
| Dec 21 | 8:44 AM | 3:07 PM | 6h 22m | 8° |
Local time (Anchorage), including daylight saving time. “Noon sun” is the sun’s height above the horizon at solar noon.
Daylight through the year
What “full sun” means in Juneau
Full sun is 6+ hours of direct sun. In Juneau an open spot has 18.3 hours of daylight to work with in June and 6.4 in December, so a bed that clears 6 hours in summer can easily drop to part shade in winter once the low sun slips behind trees and houses.
Measure the sun in your Juneau yard
Daylight is the ceiling. Deconstruct Sun traces the trees and buildings around one exact spot and tells you its real direct-sun hours, today and at every solstice and equinox.
Questions
What hardiness zone is Juneau, AK in?
Juneau, Alaska is in USDA plant hardiness zone 7a on the 2023 map. The average coldest winter night is 0 to 5 °F (−17.8 to −15.0 °C). It is near the boundary with zone 6b.
How many hours of daylight does Juneau get?
About 18.3 hours on the June solstice (sunrise 3:51 AM, sunset 10:07 PM) and 6.4 hours on the December solstice (sunrise 8:44 AM, sunset 3:07 PM). Around the equinoxes it is close to 12 hours.
How many hours of sun does my Juneau yard get?
Up to the daylight hours above, minus whatever trees, buildings and fences block. In winter, when the sun stays low, that can be most of it. The Deconstruct Sun iPhone app measures the real direct-sun hours for one exact spot by having you trace what is around it.
When is the best time to plant in Juneau?
Zone 7a tells you which perennials survive winter, not planting dates. For timing, use your local average frost dates from your county extension office, and choose plants rated for zone 7a or colder.
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. Underlying data © PRISM Group, Oregon State University, prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed 2026-08-30. Sun times calculated for 58.302, -134.420.