Autumn mountains under blue sky from a Blue Ridge overlook, Haywood County

Home › North Carolina

Gardening by county

North Carolina Gardening by County

Frost dates, planting zones and planting calendars for all 100 North Carolina counties. The last spring frost ranges from Mar 8 (Beaufort County) to May 7 (Ashe County), and USDA zones run from 6b to 9a.

Photo: Autumn mountains under blue sky from a Blue Ridge overlook, Haywood County. msprague, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

North Carolina garden tools

North Carolina frost dates

County frost dates at 32°F and 28°F with a today line for your county.

What to plant now in North Carolina

Pick a county for the crops you can plant outdoors this week.

North Carolina planting calendar

Month-by-month planting dates from N.C. Cooperative Extension.

North Carolina planting zone map

Which USDA zone each county is in, with the official state map.

North Carolina lawn care calendar: seeding, fertilizer and crabgrass preventer dates from N.C. Cooperative Extension publications.

North Carolina invasive plants: plants the state bans from sale, and advisory lists.

North Carolina native plants: pollinator plants and other natives listed by official sources.

Forested valley under summer clouds, Pisgah National Forest

Old gambrel barn at the edge of a field, Wake County

How North Carolina gardens differ by county

Frost-free days range from 154 (Ashe County) to 272 (Beaufort County) in half of years. First fall frost dates span Oct 8 (Ashe County) to Dec 5 (Beaufort County).

N.C. Cooperative Extension publishes separate calendars for the Western, Central and Eastern parts of North Carolina, and each county page uses the calendar for its region.

Frost figures for the 100 counties are drawn from 94 NOAA climate stations. The most common USDA zones are 8a (51 counties), 7b (21 counties), 8b (16 counties).

When to plant in North Carolina

When to plant tomatoes
When to plant peppers
When to plant potatoes
When to plant sweet potatoes
When to plant sweet corn
When to plant green beans
When to plant lima beans
When to plant peas
When to plant southern peas
When to plant cucumbers
When to plant squash
When to plant winter squash
When to plant pumpkins
When to plant watermelon
When to plant cantaloupe
When to plant okra
When to plant eggplant
When to plant lettuce
When to plant spinach
When to plant kale
When to plant collard greens
When to plant mustard greens
When to plant turnips
When to plant swiss chard
When to plant cabbage
When to plant broccoli
When to plant cauliflower
When to plant brussels sprouts
When to plant kohlrabi
When to plant carrots
When to plant beets
When to plant radishes
When to plant onions
When to plant garlic
When to plant leeks
When to plant asparagus
When to plant rutabagas
When to plant basil
When to plant parsley

North Carolina counties

Alamance CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 4
Alexander CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 2
Alleghany CountyZone 7a, last frost May 4
Anson CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 24
Ashe CountyZone 7a, last frost May 7
Avery CountyZone 6b, last frost May 5
Beaufort CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 8
Bertie CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 29
Bladen CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 29
Brunswick CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 20
Buncombe CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 6
Burke CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 7
Cabarrus CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 1
Caldwell CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 7
Camden CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Carteret CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 10
Caswell CountyZone 7b, last frost Mar 31
Catawba CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 31
Chatham CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 31
Cherokee CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 22
Chowan CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 24
Clay CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 17
Cleveland CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 12
Columbus CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 29
Craven CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 23
Cumberland CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 30
Currituck CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 28
Dare CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 29
Davidson CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 11
Davie CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 15
Duplin CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 7
Durham CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 2
Edgecombe CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 30
Forsyth CountyZone 7b, last frost Mar 26
Franklin CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 11
Gaston CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Gates CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 7
Graham CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 13
Granville CountyZone 7b, last frost Mar 30
Greene CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 26
Guilford CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 1
Halifax CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Harnett CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 28
Haywood CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 30
Henderson CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 14
Hertford CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 6
Hoke CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 3
Hyde CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 29
Iredell CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 16
Jackson CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 19
Johnston CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 29
Jones CountyZone 8b, last frost Apr 5
Lee CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 10
Lenoir CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 25
Lincoln CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 9
Macon CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 17
Madison CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 28
Martin CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 20
McDowell CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 5
Mecklenburg CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 30
Mitchell CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 24
Montgomery CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 25
Moore CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 25
Nash CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 1
New Hanover CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 20
Northampton CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 5
Onslow CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 31
Orange CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 31
Pamlico CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 30
Pasquotank CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Pender CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 29
Perquimans CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 28
Person CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 15
Pitt CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Polk CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 27
Randolph CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 5
Richmond CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 30
Robeson CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 24
Rockingham CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 5
Rowan CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 6
Rutherford CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 11
Sampson CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 26
Scotland CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 21
Stanly CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 29
Stokes CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 11
Surry CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 19
Swain CountyZone 7a, last frost May 3
Transylvania CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 21
Tyrrell CountyZone 8b, last frost Mar 29
Union CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 3
Vance CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 16
Wake CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 28
Warren CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 3
Washington CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 31
Watauga CountyZone 7a, last frost May 2
Wayne CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 15
Wilkes CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 10
Wilson CountyZone 8a, last frost Mar 22
Yadkin CountyZone 7b, last frost Apr 16
Yancey CountyZone 7a, last frost Apr 24

North Carolina at a glance

100Counties

6b to 9aUSDA zones

39Crops with dates

N.C. Cooperative ExtensionExtension source

When to plant in North Carolina: crop by crop

Planting dates for each crop in North Carolina, from the N.C. Cooperative Extension calendar.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Squash

Lettuce

Onions

Garlic

Peas

Watermelon

Pumpkins

Broccoli

Carrots

Okra

Kale

Spinach

Cabbage

Sweet Potatoes

Lima Beans

Southern Peas

Winter Squash

Cantaloupe

Eggplant

Collard Greens

Mustard Greens

Turnips

Swiss Chard

Cauliflower

Brussels Sprouts

Kohlrabi

Beets

Radishes

Leeks

Asparagus

Rutabagas

Basil

Parsley

North Carolina gardening questions

When is it safe to plant after frost in North Carolina?

The 50% last frost falls on Mar 8 at the earliest (Beaufort County) and May 7 at the latest (Ashe County).

What USDA zones are in North Carolina?

The 2023 USDA map shows zones 6b through 9a.

What vegetables can I plant now in North Carolina?

Pick your county on what to plant now in North Carolina.

Where do these dates come from?

N.C. Cooperative Extension for the planting dates, NOAA NCEI for frost dates and the USDA 2023 map for zones; links are on each page.

Misty green pasture and small barn below wooded hills, Cherokee County

Photos: Autumn mountains under blue sky from a Blue Ridge overlook, Haywood County: msprague, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr; Misty green pasture and small barn below wooded hills, Cherokee County: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr; Forested valley under summer clouds, Pisgah National Forest: USDAgov, Public Domain Mark 1.0, via Flickr; Old gambrel barn at the edge of a field, Wake County: Ryan Q, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Pile of ripe tomatoes: Jubair Bin Iqbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plant growing in a garden bed: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of sweet corn in summer: Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber vines climbing a wooden trellis in a kitchen garden: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini fruit on the plant: Schlaghecken Josef, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Leaf lettuce growing in a garden: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Neat rows of young garlic shoots growing in dark tilled soil: Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of young pea plants in a vegetable patch: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Young watermelon plant in a garden: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons; Green pumpkins growing beneath thick vines and broad leaves in a farm field: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Green broccoli head growing in the center of a leafy plant: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of carrots growing between rye windbreak strips in a farm field: Photo by Fred Gasper, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Garden with okra plants: Kenogenic, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Kale in a vegetable bed at a botanic garden: cultivar413 from Fallbrook, California, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of a spinach plant with crinkled dark green leaves in soil: Алексей Тараканов, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cabbage heads forming among broad outer leaves in a garden plot: SuSanA Secretariat, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Sweet potato leaves: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons; Lima bean seeds: Filo gèn', CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of bushy green cowpea plants growing in rows of red soil: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Butternut squash growing on the vine: Jebulon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Whole and sliced cantaloupes: USDA photo by Scott Bauer. Image Number K7355-11., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Long purple eggplant growing on the plant: BorisAhonon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Collard leaf (Brassica oleracea var. viridis): Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Dense bed of leafy mustard greens growing in a farm field: Judgefloro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; White turnip roots swelling above the soil under leafy green tops: Miya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red-stemmed Swiss chard plants growing in a garden bed with drip line: mercedesfromtheeighties, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Creamy white cauliflower head growing among large blue-green leaves: Edukeralam,( Navaneeth Krishnan S), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of tall Brussels sprouts plants with sprouts along the stalks: Schlaghecken Josef, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of young kohlrabi plants growing in a sandy farm field: AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red beets growing in a field with some roots pulled and cut open: Arn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red radish root peeking from dark garden soil beneath green leaves: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bed of blue-green leeks growing in a walled kitchen garden: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of feathery asparagus ferns in a commercial asparagus field: User:Morri362, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Freshly pulled rutabaga roots lying in a row on garden soil: Picasa user Seedambassadors, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bushy basil plant with glossy green leaves growing in a garden: Castielli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of curly parsley growing thick and bright green: Pohled 111, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Savoy cabbage head and outer leaves covered in hoar frost in a vegetable garden: Schlaghecken Josef, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Newly sprouted corn seedlings in straight rows of bare brown soil: Rémy Sanchez, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Wooden basket of fresh carrots with green tops and red and yellow onions: Markus Spiske, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.