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USDA hardiness zone 8b, 15°F to 20°F

Zone 8b Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month

The coldest night of the winter averages 15°F to 20°F in zone 8b. Where it is, when its frosts come, and what to do in the garden each month, from extension service guidance.

3,379 ZIP codes

Where zone 8b is

Zone 8b covers 3,379 ZIP codes in 18 states: Texas (978), Alabama (335), Georgia (318), Mississippi (303), Washington (263), South Carolina (261), Louisiana (190), Oregon (189) and 10 more.

Across its 482 NOAA stations the last spring frost comes around Mar 19 and the first fall frost around Nov 12; half the stations fall between Mar 13 and Mar 28 in spring and Nov 7 and Nov 17 in fall.

Cities and towns in zone 8b

Tap a town for its own frost dates and this month’s jobs; a hill or a valley a few miles off can be half a zone either side.

Twelve months

Zone 8b planting calendar

What to start, sow, plant, divide, prune, mulch and protect in zone 8b, month by month. Every job names the extension service page it rests on; open “Where this comes from” under a job to read their words.

Timed from the median frost dates of the 482 NOAA stations in zone 8b: last spring frost Mar 19, first fall frost Nov 12. Your own ZIP’s frost dates move every window, so the ZIP tool times them for you. In Florida, Arizona’s low desert, Southern Nevada, South Louisiana and California’s inland valleys, the state pages and the ZIP tool use those extension services’ own vegetable planting months.

Pick a month above to see every job in it.

The year at a glance

  1. Start vegetable seeds indoorsDec to Mar
  2. Sow vegetables in the gardenFeb to Mar
  3. Sow the fall vegetable gardenJul to Sep
  4. Set out transplantsFeb to Apr
  5. Plant trees and shrubsOct 1 to Apr 2
  6. Plant garlicOct 29 to Dec 3
  7. Plant pre-chilled tulip bulbsNov 20 to Dec 31
  8. Divide fall-blooming perennialsFeb 26 to Apr 9
  9. Divide spring and summer-blooming perennialsOct 1 to Nov 12
  10. Prune trees and summer-flowering shrubs while dormantFeb 5 to Mar 19
  11. Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they bloomMar 5 to Apr 30
  12. Prune out cold damageMar 19 to Apr 30
  13. Cover tender plants on a freezing nightNov 5 to Mar 19
  14. Cut back perennials after a hard freezeNov 19 to Dec 17
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60 plants

What grows in zone 8b

Perennials, shrubs, trees and fruit that NC State Extension rates as hardy in zone 8b, each linked to its plant page. A plant rated for a range of zones suits every half zone in it, so “zones 4 to 8” covers 4a through 8b.

Perennials 15

Shrubs 14

Trees 7

Fruit 15

Bulbs 7

Perennial vegetables 2

Ratings from the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, read Oct 9, 2026. The zone covers winter cold only; heat, rain and soil decide the rest.

A summer perennial border of yellow black-eyed Susans, purple liatris spikes and silvery Russian sage, with a rose of Sharon shrub behind and small plant labels in the bed
A labeled perennial border in high summer. The zone on a plant tag is the coldest winter it is rated to come through, so a plant rated for zones 4 to 9 suits every half zone from 4a to 9b. “Perennials border in Summer”, Bindersbee, Public domain
Either side

The zones next to 8b

Each half zone is five degrees. Zone 8a is five degrees colder at 10°F to 15°F. Zone 9a is five degrees warmer at 20°F to 25°F.

Zone 8a, colder10°F to 15°FZone 9a, warmer20°F to 25°F
Questions

Zone 8b questions

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Your own dates, by ZIP

Find your zone by ZIPYour zone, your frost dates and this month’s jobs for your address.Seed starting calendarWhen to start each vegetable indoors, by ZIP.Frost dates by ZIPYour last spring and first fall frost, with the odds either side.First frost forecastWhen the first fall frost usually arrives, state by state.Soil temperatureWhen the ground is warm enough to sow.When to plant garlicThe fall planting window by ZIP.

Sources. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code tables (2023 and 2012), PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA Agricultural Research Service, November 15, 2023); NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual/seasonal, by station (v1.0.1); NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Zone frost dates are the medians of the NOAA 1991 to 2020 station normals inside the zone.

The calendar’s extension sources: