Home › North Carolina › Planting zone
North Carolina
North Carolina Planting Zone Map
North Carolina has USDA plant hardiness zones 6b to 9a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 8a (51 of 100 counties), then 7b (21).
Photo: Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley. Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Find the planting zone for your North Carolina county
Zones: USDA ARS 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, main zone of each county by ZIP code area. Frost dates: NOAA 1991-2020 normals.
USDA plant hardiness zone map of North Carolina
Official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023), USDA Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group, shown reduced in size. Full-size files: USDA map downloads; interactive map: planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.
North Carolina counties by main zone
Each county is listed under the zone that covers most of its ZIP code area. Larger or hilly counties can span two or more zones.
Planting zone for every North Carolina county
| County | Main zone | Zones in county | Average coldest night | Last frost (50%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamance | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 4 |
| Alexander | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 2 |
| Alleghany | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | May 4 |
| Anson | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 24 |
| Ashe | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | May 7 |
| Avery | 6b | 6b, 7a, 7b | -5 to 0°F | May 5 |
| Beaufort | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 8 |
| Bertie | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Bladen | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 29 |
| Brunswick | 8b | 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 20 |
| Buncombe | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 6 |
| Burke | 7b | 6b, 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Cabarrus | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 1 |
| Caldwell | 7b | 6b, 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 7 |
| Camden | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Carteret | 8b | 8b, 9a | 15 to 20°F | Mar 10 |
| Caswell | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 31 |
| Catawba | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 31 |
| Chatham | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 31 |
| Cherokee | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 22 |
| Chowan | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 24 |
| Clay | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 17 |
| Cleveland | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 12 |
| Columbus | 8b | 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 29 |
| Craven | 8b | 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 23 |
| Cumberland | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 30 |
| Currituck | 8b | 8a, 8b, 9a | 15 to 20°F | Mar 28 |
| Dare | 8b | 8b, 9a | 15 to 20°F | Mar 29 |
| Davidson | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 11 |
| Davie | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 15 |
| Duplin | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 7 |
| Durham | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 2 |
| Edgecombe | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 30 |
| Forsyth | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 26 |
| Franklin | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 11 |
| Gaston | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Gates | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 7 |
| Graham | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 13 |
| Granville | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Mar 30 |
| Greene | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 26 |
| Guilford | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 1 |
| Halifax | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Harnett | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 28 |
| Haywood | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 30 |
| Henderson | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 14 |
| Hertford | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 6 |
| Hoke | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Apr 3 |
| Hyde | 8b | 8a, 8b, 9a | 15 to 20°F | Mar 29 |
| Iredell | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 16 |
| Jackson | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 19 |
| Johnston | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Jones | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Apr 5 |
| Lee | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 10 |
| Lenoir | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 25 |
| Lincoln | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 9 |
| Macon | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 17 |
| Madison | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | Apr 28 |
| Martin | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 20 |
| McDowell | 7b | 6b, 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Mecklenburg | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 30 |
| Mitchell | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 24 |
| Montgomery | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 25 |
| Moore | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 25 |
| Nash | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 1 |
| New Hanover | 8b | 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 20 |
| Northampton | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 5 |
| Onslow | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 31 |
| Orange | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 31 |
| Pamlico | 8b | 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 30 |
| Pasquotank | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Pender | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Perquimans | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 28 |
| Person | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 15 |
| Pitt | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Polk | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 27 |
| Randolph | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 5 |
| Richmond | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 30 |
| Robeson | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 24 |
| Rockingham | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 5 |
| Rowan | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 6 |
| Rutherford | 8a | 7a, 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 11 |
| Sampson | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 26 |
| Scotland | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 21 |
| Stanly | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 29 |
| Stokes | 7b | 7b, 8a | 5 to 10°F | Apr 11 |
| Surry | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 19 |
| Swain | 7a | 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | May 3 |
| Transylvania | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 21 |
| Tyrrell | 8b | 8a, 8b | 15 to 20°F | Mar 29 |
| Union | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 3 |
| Vance | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 16 |
| Wake | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 28 |
| Warren | 8a | 7b, 8a | 10 to 15°F | Apr 3 |
| Washington | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 31 |
| Watauga | 7a | 6b, 7a, 7b | 0 to 5°F | May 2 |
| Wayne | 8a | 8a, 8b | 10 to 15°F | Mar 15 |
| Wilkes | 7b | 7a, 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 10 |
| Wilson | 8a | 8a | 10 to 15°F | Mar 22 |
| Yadkin | 7b | 7b | 5 to 10°F | Apr 16 |
| Yancey | 7a | 7a | 0 to 5°F | Apr 24 |
When to plant in North Carolina: crop by crop
Planting dates for each crop in North Carolina, from the N.C. Cooperative Extension calendar.
North Carolina planting zone questions
What planting zone is North Carolina?
North Carolina has USDA plant hardiness zones 6b to 9a on the 2023 USDA map. The most common zone by county is 8a (51 of 100 counties), then 7b (21).
What does a hardiness zone mean?
A USDA zone is based on the average coldest winter night from 1991 to 2020. Each zone is 10°F wide, split into a and b halves of 5°F.
Did the zones change in 2023?
Yes. USDA released a new map in November 2023 using 1991 to 2020 data. Many places moved half a zone warmer than on the 2012 map.
Does my zone tell me when to plant?
No. Zones are about which perennials survive winter. Planting dates follow frost dates; see North Carolina frost dates and the North Carolina planting calendar.
How is a county's zone worked out here?
From the USDA 2023 zone of each ZIP code, joined to Census ZIP code areas. The main zone covers most of the county's ZIP code area.
Can I use the USDA map image?
USDA publishes the official map as a public-domain image. The map on this page is the official file, reduced in size, with a link to the full-size version.
Photos: Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Autumn color around the meadows of Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park: cwwycoff1, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Conifer hillside at 5,000 feet, Great Smoky Mountains National Park: arsheffield, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Autumn ridges and blue sky from the Blue Ridge Parkway, Haywood County: msprague, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr; Mist and autumn color over the Hominy Valley overlook, Buncombe County: daveynin, 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 plants growing in a greenhouse bed: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini plant with a yellow flower: net_efekt from Oxford, UK, CC BY 2.0, 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; Pea plants growing up supports in a garden: 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.