St. Stephen, SC 29468 Frost Dates
When can you plant in St. Stephen, SC?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/25, roughly 209 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/11, about 232 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for St. Stephen, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 11 weeks of growing season left in St. Stephen before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/25 isn't a guarantee
03/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How St. Stephen compares
About 232 days separate St. Stephen's last and first frost, putting it 10,058 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within SC, it ranks 316 of 519.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in St. Stephen can differ from the 29468 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and St. Stephen's frost date answer different questions.