Place guide
Planting zones in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
This metro spans USDA zones 7b to 8a, so there is no single zone for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 79% of its ZIP codes are zone 8a; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Durham-Chapel Hill, NC as a whole. Hardiness zones and freeze dates are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact — enter it and this page will tell you your zone, which NOAA station it comes from and how far away that station is.
The growing season in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC is closing
Nothing in the 32-crop table still has time to mature here. The first fall freeze normally arrives October 26 – November 7 across the 12 NOAA stations serving this metro area .
Your next season already has a date
The first job of it is 🧅 Green Onions, start indoors, around February 1 – February 18 — counted back from a last spring freeze of March 29 – April 15 here.
These are ranges across the whole metro area. The ZIP lookup above gives the dates from your own nearest station instead.
All 12 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 12 NOAA stations serving this metro area counts April 15 – October 26 as growing season (194 days). Widening to any single station gives March 29 – November 7 (223 days).
That is a 29-day difference inside one metro area — which is why this page gives ranges rather than a single planting date. The ZIP lookup above resolves it to one station.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC covers 2 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the metro one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — which is fine for the 79% in zone 8a and wrong for the other 21%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8a | 26 | 79% | |
| 7b | 7 | 21% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the metro's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Those are the earliest and latest medians among the 12 stations serving this metro — not an average, and not one station standing in for the rest. Half of years freeze later than a station's own median.
The spread is the point. Even in a metro that is one hardiness zone throughout, its stations disagree about the last spring freeze. Hardiness zone and frost date measure different things — a zone is the average annual coldest night, a freeze date is when the season turns — and a place can be uniform in one and varied in the other. Use the tools below with your own ZIP rather than the ends of this range.
Your growing season
NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 12 stations serving Durham-Chapel Hill, NC it runs 194–222 days . That figure is published, not computed from the two freeze dates — subtracting one from the other gives the wrong answer wherever a season crosses New Year. Mean summer high (June–August) runs 85–89 °F , below the 90 °F point where cool-season crops reliably bolt. Summer rain over the same months runs 11.6–15.2" across those 12 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. At the middle station that is covered, so watering in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC is for the gaps between storms rather than the whole season. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 88 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
When to start seeds in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 12 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in the metro — because no one station speaks for the whole area.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Onions | Start indoors | February 1 – February 18 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | February 1 – February 18 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | February 15 – March 4 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | February 22 – March 11 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | February 22 – March 11 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | February 22 – March 11 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | March 1 – March 18 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | March 8 – March 25 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | March 15 – April 1 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | March 22 – April 8 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | April 5 – April 22 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | April 12 – April 29 | 2 weeks after |
The week offsets are conventional extension guidance and vary by variety; the freeze dates they are counted from are measured. For a single date rather than a range, run when do I start my seeds? with your own ZIP code.
What survives the winter changes across Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 57 come through the winter in zone 8a and only 56 in zone 7b. That is a different garden at each end of the same metro.
| Zone | ZIPs | Survive | Fail for being too warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7b | 7 | 56 of 74 | 3 |
| 8a | 26 | 57 of 74 | 8 |
The last column is the counterintuitive one, and it is why the totals do not simply rise as the winters get milder. Most temperate fruit needs a documented number of hours below about 45 °F to break dormancy and set a crop, so an apple fails in a winter that is too warm; currants and rhubarb cook in the summer heat that comes with it. See the full list with reasons.
Cautious — shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic
- Last spring freeze
- Plan to April 30 to be careful. Median March 29 – April 15 across 12 stations; March 11 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to October 12 to be careful. Median October 26 – November 7 across 12 stations; November 21 is the optimistic end.
NOAA publishes these as probabilities, not averages — the middle figure is a median, so half of years fall either side of it. The cautious end is the 10% tail: in roughly nine years in ten the freeze falls on the safe side of it.
The 12 stations behind these numbers
All 12 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 93 km north to south. Every one is named with its identifier in the station list below — this page does not single one out, because no one station speaks for a whole metro area.
A relative sketch, not a map with a projection: longitude is adjusted for latitude so the shape is not stretched, and there is no basemap. For the one station nearest a specific address, with its real distance, use the ZIP lookup above.
Every figure above comes from these, and each is named so you can check it. Which station serves a given ZIP code, and how far away it is, varies across the metro — the table below gives it per ZIP code rather than this page averaging it.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cane Creek Rsvr, NC | USC00311429 | April 6 | November 1 | 210 days |
| Chapel Hill 2 W, NC | USC00311677 | March 31 | November 3 | 218 days |
| Chapel Hill Williams AP, NC | USW00093785 | March 29 | November 5 | 222 days |
| Chatham Wtp, NC | USC00311700 | April 1 | November 7 | 221 days |
| Durham 11 W, NC | USW00003758 | March 31 | November 4 | 217 days |
| Durham, NC | USC00312515 | April 2 | November 4 | 217 days |
| New Hill, NC | USC00316122 | April 6 | November 3 | 209 days |
| Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | USW00013722 | March 31 | November 4 | 219 days |
| Roxboro 7 Ese, NC | USC00317516 | April 15 | October 26 | 194 days |
| Sanford 8 NE, NC | USC00317656 | April 10 | October 30 | 203 days |
| Siler City 2 N, NC | USC00317924 | March 31 | November 4 | 220 days |
| Yanceyville 4 SE, NC | USC00319704 | March 31 | November 4 | 218 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Every ZIP code in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per metro area, so this is the exact answer rather than the metro area's average. The station column is the nearest one to that ZIP code's centroid and how far away it is — the same figure the tools use, shown here so you can see which ZIP codes are well covered and which are reaching.
| ZIP code | USDA zone | Nearest NOAA station | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27207 | 8a | Siler City 2 N, NC | 18.2 km |
| 27208 | 8a | Siler City 2 N, NC | 23.3 km |
| 27213 | 8a | Siler City 2 N, NC | 13.3 km |
| 27231 | 8a | Yanceyville 4 SE, NC | 21.5 km |
| 27243 | 8a | Cane Creek Rsvr, NC | 12.8 km |
| 27252 | 8a | Siler City 2 N, NC | 24.3 km |
| 27256 | 7b | Sanford 8 NE, NC | 20.7 km |
| 27278 | 8a | Durham, NC | 12.4 km |
| 27312 | 8a | Chatham Wtp, NC | 17.6 km |
| 27343 | 7b | Yanceyville 4 SE, NC | 21.4 km |
| 27344 | 8a | Siler City 2 N, NC | 5.0 km |
| 27503 | 8a | Durham, NC | 14.1 km |
| 27510 | 8a | Chapel Hill 2 W, NC | 0.2 km |
| 27514 | 8a | Durham 11 W, NC | 3.7 km |
| 27516 | 8a | Chapel Hill 2 W, NC | 6.8 km |
| 27517 | 8a | Chapel Hill 2 W, NC | 8.5 km |
| 27523 | 8a | Chatham Wtp, NC | 6.1 km |
| 27541 | 7b | Yanceyville 4 SE, NC | 19.8 km |
| 27559 | 8a | Sanford 8 NE, NC | 11.4 km |
| 27562 | 8a | New Hill, NC | 6.9 km |
| 27572 | 7b | Roxboro 7 Ese, NC | 10.2 km |
| 27573 | 7b | Roxboro 7 Ese, NC | 9.9 km |
| 27574 | 7b | Roxboro 7 Ese, NC | 14.9 km |
| 27583 | 7b | Roxboro 7 Ese, NC | 5.7 km |
| 27701 | 8a | Durham, NC | 7.5 km |
| 27703 | 8a | Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | 8.0 km |
| 27704 | 8a | Durham, NC | 12.0 km |
| 27705 | 8a | Durham, NC | 2.6 km |
| 27707 | 8a | Durham, NC | 9.8 km |
| 27708 | 8a | Durham, NC | 5.0 km |
| 27709 | 8a | Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | 8.3 km |
| 27712 | 8a | Durham, NC | 7.9 km |
| 27713 | 8a | Chapel Hill Williams AP, NC | 12.8 km |
ZIP-code positions are area centroids, so a large rural ZIP code's listed distance is measured from the middle of its area rather than from any particular address in it.
Your own ZIP
Work out your own dates
Each of these takes a ZIP code and answers for that ZIP alone, citing the station it used and how far away it is. There is a ZIP box in the header of every page.
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What survives my winter?
Runs on the hardiness zone, so it answers for all of Durham-Chapel Hill, NC at once — zone across 74 perennial fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs.
- When do I start my seeds?
Dates every spring job from your own last freeze — sow indoors, set out, direct sow.
- When do I sow the next round?
How often each crop is worth re-sowing, and when the next sowing is due.
- What can I still plant?
Counts the growing days left before your first fall freeze, crop by crop.
Other places to compare
These metros span exactly the same zones — 7b–8a — so the same plants are in and out of range across them. The freeze dates and the spring calendar are their own.
- Huntsville, AL — zones 7b–8a
- Fort Smith, AR-OK — zones 7b–8a
- Salisbury, MD — zones 7b–8a
- Jonesboro, AR — zones 7b–8a
- Lawton, OK — zones 7b–8a
- Cleveland, TN — zones 7b–8a
- Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL — zones 7b–8a
- Dalton, GA — zones 7b–8a
Gardening in North Carolina — zones 6b– 9a covers the whole state: how its 850 ZIP codes divide between 6 hardiness zones, and the freeze dates across every NOAA station in it.
Other metro areas in NC:
- Asheville, NC Zones 7a–7b
- Wilmington, NC Zones 8a–8b
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Zones 6b, 7b, 8a
- Fayetteville, NC Zones 8a–8b
- Rocky Mount, NC Zone 8a
- Jacksonville, NC Zones 8a–8b
- Greenville, NC Zones 8a–8b
- Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Zone 8a
- Burlington, NC Zone 8a
- Goldsboro, NC Zones 8a–8b
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Zones 7b–8a
- Raleigh-Cary, NC Zone 8a
Gear
If you want to act on this
Each link opens an Amazon search rather than a product we picked. We have not tested these and do not rank them — the search is the honest version, and you choose.
- Row cover and frost clothThe season here closes at the first fall freeze dated above — a cover buys back some of those days at the end.
- MulchFor the perennials nearest their cold limit in zone 7b, where an insulated crown is what decides whether they come back.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. That costs you nothing extra, and it buys no influence over anything on this site: the dates come from NOAA normals and the zones from the USDA, and no product affects either.
Sources
Where these numbers come from
The hardiness zone is the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. The freeze dates are NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals, read from every station whose normals cover a ZIP code in this metro. Nothing here is estimated, and no station stands in for another.
This page names no single station on purpose. Picking one to represent a metro sounds reasonable and is not: the station serving the most ZIP codes is an artifact of where ZIP centroids happen to fall, and it selects a lock on the Monongahela for Pittsburgh and a far southern suburb for Chicago. A range across every station is true; a single cited date for a whole metro is not.