Place guide
Planting zones in Raleigh-Cary, NC
Every ZIP code in this metro is USDA zone 8a. That is unusual — most metros span several zones — and it means the one number people usually look up is the same wherever you are here.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Raleigh-Cary, 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.
Raleigh-Cary, NC does not have one planting answer
Its own weather stations disagree about 12 of the 32 crops in this table right now, so any single list would be wrong for part of the metro area. That is not a gap in the data — it is what the data says.
- Shortest season
- 201 days
LOUISBURG, NC US (USC00315123) - Longest season
- 236 days
WILSON 3 SW, NC US (USC00319476)
35 days of growing season separate those two stations, and both serve ZIP codes in Raleigh-Cary, NC. The ZIP lookup above answers for one address instead of averaging a place that has no average.
Why the hardiness zone does not settle this
A USDA zone is a winter-minimum statistic. It was never a growing-season one, and it does not behave like one: within a single zone the growing season runs a median 54 days wider at the 10th–90th percentile, and annual growing degree days vary by 2.02×.
The zones also overlap rather than stack — 30% of zone 6b freezes before the median zone 6a station. The zone tells you what survives your winter; the station tells you what finishes before your autumn.
All 15 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 15 NOAA stations serving this metro area counts April 11 – October 29 as growing season (201 days). Widening to any single station gives March 22 – November 12 (235 days).
That is a 34-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.
Your freeze dates
Those are the earliest and latest medians among the 15 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 15 stations serving Raleigh-Cary, NC it runs 201–236 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 85–90 °F , at or above the 90 °F point where cool-season crops bolt and tomato and pepper pollen fails — so midsummer sowings of lettuce and its relatives are worth holding here. Summer rain over the same months runs 13.6–16.4" across those 15 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 Raleigh-Cary, 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 Raleigh-Cary, NC
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 15 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 | January 25 – February 14 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | January 25 – February 14 | 8 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | February 8 – February 28 | 6 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | February 15 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | February 15 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | February 15 – March 7 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | February 22 – March 14 | 4 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | March 1 – March 21 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | March 8 – March 28 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | March 15 – April 4 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | March 29 – April 18 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | April 5 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | April 5 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | April 5 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | April 5 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | April 5 – April 25 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | April 5 – April 25 | 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 lives through a zone 8a winter
Winter hardiness runs on the zone alone, so this one is exact for the whole of Raleigh-Cary, NC rather than a range. Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 57 come through a zone 8a winter — and 8 of the failures are not about cold at all, but about winters too mild to break dormancy or summers too hot.
Among them: Apple, Aronia, Elderberry, Summer Raspberry, Asparagus, Horseradish, Rhubarb, Sunchoke. See the full list with reasons.
Cautious — shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic
- Last spring freeze
- Plan to April 28 to be careful. Median March 22 – April 11 across 15 stations; March 3 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to October 15 to be careful. Median October 29 – November 12 across 15 stations; December 1 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 15 stations behind these numbers
All 15 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 86 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex, NC | USC00310212 | March 27 | November 8 | 227 days |
| Cary, NC | USC00311535 | March 31 | November 10 | 226 days |
| Clayton 3E, NC | USC00311817 | March 28 | November 8 | 225 days |
| Clayton Wtp, NC | USC00311820 | April 7 | November 3 | 211 days |
| Dunn 4 NW, NC | USC00312500 | March 28 | November 7 | 226 days |
| Falls Lake, NC | USC00312993 | April 4 | November 4 | 213 days |
| Garner, NC | USC00313238 | April 1 | November 1 | 213 days |
| Goldsboro Ag 1 N, NC | USC00313503 | March 28 | November 12 | 231 days |
| Louisburg, NC | USC00315123 | April 11 | October 29 | 201 days |
| New Hill, NC | USC00316122 | April 6 | November 3 | 209 days |
| Raleigh 4 SW, NC | USC00317074 | March 28 | November 9 | 227 days |
| Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | USW00013722 | March 31 | November 4 | 219 days |
| Raleigh State Univ, NC | USC00317079 | March 28 | November 8 | 229 days |
| Smithfield, NC | USC00317994 | March 29 | November 5 | 220 days |
| Wilson 3 SW, NC | USC00319476 | March 22 | November 12 | 236 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 Raleigh-Cary, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27502 | 8a | New Hill, NC | 4.3 km |
| 27504 | 8a | Dunn 4 NW, NC | 17.5 km |
| 27508 | 8a | Louisburg, NC | 16.7 km |
| 27511 | 8a | Cary, NC | 4.9 km |
| 27513 | 8a | Apex, NC | 7.3 km |
| 27518 | 8a | Cary, NC | 1.8 km |
| 27519 | 8a | Apex, NC | 8.6 km |
| 27520 | 8a | Clayton Wtp, NC | 3.4 km |
| 27524 | 8a | Smithfield, NC | 14.3 km |
| 27525 | 8a | Louisburg, NC | 16.0 km |
| 27527 | 8a | Clayton 3E, NC | 2.6 km |
| 27529 | 8a | Garner, NC | 8.1 km |
| 27539 | 8a | Cary, NC | 5.4 km |
| 27540 | 8a | New Hill, NC | 8.2 km |
| 27542 | 8a | Wilson 3 SW, NC | 19.2 km |
| 27545 | 8a | Clayton Wtp, NC | 16.0 km |
| 27549 | 8a | Louisburg, NC | 4.8 km |
| 27555 | 8a | Smithfield, NC | 13.7 km |
| 27560 | 8a | Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | 5.6 km |
| 27568 | 8a | Smithfield, NC | 9.2 km |
| 27569 | 8a | Goldsboro Ag 1 N, NC | 15.7 km |
| 27571 | 8a | Falls Lake, NC | 18.3 km |
| 27576 | 8a | Smithfield, NC | 10.1 km |
| 27577 | 8a | Smithfield, NC | 2.8 km |
| 27587 | 8a | Falls Lake, NC | 9.2 km |
| 27591 | 8a | Clayton 3E, NC | 16.6 km |
| 27592 | 8a | Garner, NC | 12.7 km |
| 27593 | 8a | Clayton 3E, NC | 6.4 km |
| 27596 | 8a | Louisburg, NC | 16.4 km |
| 27597 | 8a | Clayton 3E, NC | 24.5 km |
| 27601 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 6.1 km |
| 27603 | 8a | Garner, NC | 0.9 km |
| 27604 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 12.8 km |
| 27605 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 4.0 km |
| 27606 | 8a | Raleigh 4 SW, NC | 3.2 km |
| 27607 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 4.0 km |
| 27608 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 5.0 km |
| 27609 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 8.3 km |
| 27610 | 8a | Raleigh 4 SW, NC | 12.5 km |
| 27612 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 6.6 km |
| 27613 | 8a | Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | 7.4 km |
| 27614 | 8a | Falls Lake, NC | 4.9 km |
| 27615 | 8a | Falls Lake, NC | 9.3 km |
| 27616 | 8a | Falls Lake, NC | 16.2 km |
| 27617 | 8a | Raleigh Durham INTL AP, NC | 2.0 km |
| 27695 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 1.9 km |
| 27697 | 8a | Raleigh State Univ, NC | 7.0 km |
| 27816 | 8a | Louisburg, NC | 20.8 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.
-
What survives my winter?
Runs on the hardiness zone, so it answers for all of Raleigh-Cary, NC at once — zone 8a 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 are also entirely zone 8a, so the winter answer here is the same one they get — the freeze dates and the spring calendar are their own.
- Spartanburg, SC — zone 8a
- Abilene, TX — zone 8a
- Wichita Falls, TX — zone 8a
- Rocky Mount, NC — zone 8a
- Sherman-Denison, TX — zone 8a
- San Angelo, TX — zone 8a
- Decatur, AL — zone 8a
- Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC — zone 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:
- Greensboro-High Point, NC Zones 7b–8a
- Winston-Salem, NC Zones 7b–8a
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Zones 7b–8a
- 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
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 8a, 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.