Jacksonville, NC 28543 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Jacksonville, NC?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/23, roughly 207 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 240 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Jacksonville in Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 11 weeks of growing season left in Jacksonville before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/23 isn't a guarantee
03/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/07 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Jacksonville compares
At roughly 240 frost-free days, Jacksonville places 8,666 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 74 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Jacksonville's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Jacksonville can differ from the 28543 normal.