When to plant in Flat Rock, NC

Planting dates worked out from Flat Rock's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

Apr 23

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 10

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 24

1 year in 10 by Oct 19

Frost-free days

196

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Hendersonville 1 Ne · 6.5 km away · station 658 m, town 672 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 17
Sweet pepper	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 22
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 6 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 22
Peas	—	Feb 27 – Mar 27	Apr 23
Bush beans	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 5
Carrot	—	Mar 20 – May 1	May 19
Beet	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 2
Potato	—	Mar 20 – Apr 10	May 29
Kale	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 25
Broccoli	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 12
Cucumber	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 12
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 7
Winter squash	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jul 12
Sweet corn	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	Jun 11
Garlic	—	Oct 10 – Nov 7 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 27 – Mar 27	Apr 6
Basil	Mar 12 – Mar 26	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 19

Plan all 65 crops for Flat Rock

Flat Rock's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1899	Apr 17
1900	Apr 15
1901	Apr 22
1902	Apr 14
1903	Apr 24
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 19
1906	May 10
1907	Apr 20
1908	Apr 13
1909	May 3
1910	May 15
1911	Apr 25
1912	Apr 9
1914	Apr 12
1915	Apr 16
1916	Apr 27
1917	Apr 11
1918	Apr 14
1919	Apr 27
1920	Apr 15
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 24
1923	May 11
1924	Apr 12
1925	May 2
1926	Apr 27
1927	Apr 26
1928	Apr 29
1929	Apr 23
1930	Apr 27
1931	Apr 8
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 13
1934	Apr 26
1935	Mar 18
1936	Apr 20
1937	Apr 17
1938	Apr 24
1939	May 4
1940	May 2
1941	May 14
1942	Apr 23
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 30
1945	May 4
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 11
1948	Apr 19
1949	Apr 26
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 18
1952	Apr 18
1953	Apr 28
1954	May 11
1955	Apr 1
1956	Apr 22
1957	May 7
1958	Apr 2
1959	Apr 24
1960	May 15
1961	Apr 20
1962	Apr 22
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	May 7
1969	May 13
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 27
1973	May 18
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 13
1976	May 5
1977	Apr 27
1978	Apr 23
1979	Apr 30
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 7
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 19
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 10
1988	Apr 20
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 2
1992	Apr 6
1993	Apr 23
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 3
1996	Apr 11
1997	Apr 18
2006	Apr 10
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 16
2009	Apr 8
2010	Mar 27
2012	Mar 12
2013	Apr 7
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 6
2016	Apr 11
2017	Apr 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 2
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 24
2022	Apr 21
2023	Apr 12
2024	Apr 23
2025	Apr 13
2026	Apr 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1899	166
1900	205
1901	179
1902	191
1903	159
1905	176
1907	177
1908	172
1909	162
1910	165
1911	182
1912	200
1914	198
1915	176
1916	156
1917	173
1918	160
1919	192
1920	169
1921	157
1923	151
1924	192
1925	161
1926	177
1927	171
1928	178
1929	182
1930	176
1931	193
1932	161
1933	195
1934	184
1935	202
1936	193
1937	180
1938	166
1939	163
1940	147
1941	177
1942	158
1943	156
1944	168
1945	158
1946	168
1947	139
1948	178
1949	191
1950	196
1951	174
1952	168
1953	138
1954	149
1955	191
1956	172
1957	160
1958	187
1959	178
1960	158
1961	178
1962	185
1964	174
1965	188
1966	143
1967	153
1968	150
1969	157
1970	150
1971	159
1972	166
1973	152
1974	174
1975	200
1976	165
1977	173
1978	168
1979	167
1980	191
1981	189
1982	177
1983	204
1984	201
1985	212
1986	192
1987	181
1988	170
1989	164
1990	190
1991	188
1992	196
1993	160
1994	201
1995	201
1996	191
2006	195
2007	201
2008	186
2009	193
2010	216
2012	235
2013	199
2014	196
2015	195
2016	209
2017	203
2018	174
2019	212
2020	175
2021	194
2022	179
2023	194
2024	177
2025	201

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1899	19.4 °C
1900	19.8 °C
1901	18.5 °C
1902	19.5 °C
1903	19.0 °C
1905	18.9 °C
1907	18.6 °C
1908	19.4 °C
1909	18.8 °C
1910	18.8 °C
1911	19.7 °C
1912	19.2 °C
1914	19.4 °C
1915	19.0 °C
1916	18.6 °C
1917	18.1 °C
1918	18.7 °C
1919	19.3 °C
1920	18.8 °C
1921	19.6 °C
1923	19.1 °C
1924	18.7 °C
1926	20.0 °C
1927	19.5 °C
1928	18.9 °C
1929	19.5 °C
1930	20.1 °C
1931	20.1 °C
1932	19.9 °C
1933	20.2 °C
1934	20.3 °C
1935	19.7 °C
1936	20.3 °C
1937	19.5 °C
1938	19.8 °C
1939	20.3 °C
1940	19.3 °C
1941	20.6 °C
1942	20.2 °C
1943	20.1 °C
1944	19.9 °C
1945	20.2 °C
1946	19.7 °C
1947	20.0 °C
1948	19.7 °C
1949	19.5 °C
1950	19.0 °C
1951	19.5 °C
1952	19.5 °C
1953	18.6 °C
1954	20.1 °C
1955	19.6 °C
1956	19.0 °C
1958	19.4 °C
1959	19.2 °C
1960	19.4 °C
1961	18.2 °C
1962	19.4 °C
1963	19.1 °C
1964	18.9 °C
1965	19.3 °C
1966	18.1 °C
1967	17.9 °C
1968	18.6 °C
1969	18.9 °C
1970	19.2 °C
1971	18.4 °C
1972	18.6 °C
1973	19.0 °C
1974	19.0 °C
1975	19.5 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	20.4 °C
1978	19.8 °C
1979	19.4 °C
1980	20.6 °C
1981	20.4 °C
1982	19.7 °C
1983	20.0 °C
1984	19.7 °C
1985	20.2 °C
1986	20.1 °C
1987	20.3 °C
1988	19.8 °C
1989	19.4 °C
1990	20.1 °C
1991	20.5 °C
1992	19.1 °C
1993	20.4 °C
1994	19.4 °C
2006	20.1 °C
2008	20.4 °C
2012	19.8 °C
2013	18.9 °C
2014	19.6 °C
2015	20.2 °C
2016	20.5 °C
2017	19.7 °C
2018	20.2 °C
2019	20.3 °C
2020	18.9 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	19.6 °C
2023	19.1 °C
2024	19.9 °C
2025	19.9 °C
2026	20.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1899, Flat Rock's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Hendersonville 1 Ne (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

East Flat Rock Barker Heights Valley Hill Hendersonville Laurel Park Dana