When to plant in Clemson, SC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 5

1 year in 10 by Oct 21

Frost-free days

223

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Clemson Univ · 2.9 km away · station 244 m, town 221 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Apr 14 – Apr 28	Jun 8
Sweet pepper	Feb 3 – Feb 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	Jun 13
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 24 – Jan 31	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 9
Peas	—	Feb 14 – Mar 14	Apr 10
Bush beans	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	May 27
Carrot	—	Mar 7 – Apr 18	May 6
Beet	—	Feb 28 – Apr 11	Apr 19
Potato	—	Mar 7 – Mar 28	May 16
Kale	Jan 17 – Jan 31	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 12
Broccoli	Jan 17 – Jan 31	Feb 28 – Mar 21	Apr 29
Cucumber	Mar 17 – Mar 24	Apr 14 – Apr 28	Jun 3
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 17 – Mar 24	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 29
Winter squash	Mar 17 – Mar 24	Apr 14 – Apr 28	Jul 3
Sweet corn	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 28 – Mar 21	May 29
Garlic	—	Oct 22 – Nov 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 14 – Mar 14	Mar 24
Basil	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	Jun 10

Plan all 65 crops for Clemson

Clemson'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
1897	Mar 29
1898	Apr 8
1899	Apr 11
1900	Apr 13
1901	Apr 20
1902	Mar 20
1903	Apr 23
1904	Apr 13
1905	Apr 17
1906	Apr 2
1907	Apr 15
1908	Apr 4
1909	Mar 18
1910	Mar 16
1911	Mar 24
1912	Mar 10
1913	Mar 28
1914	Mar 24
1915	Apr 4
1916	Apr 10
1917	Mar 19
1918	Mar 11
1919	Apr 3
1920	Apr 14
1921	Mar 4
1922	Mar 23
1923	Apr 2
1924	Apr 12
1926	Apr 20
1927	Mar 25
1928	Apr 16
1929	Mar 18
1930	Apr 9
1931	Mar 30
1932	Mar 16
1933	Mar 29
1934	Apr 13
1935	Mar 13
1936	Apr 19
1937	Apr 13
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 14
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 20
1942	Apr 12
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Apr 13
1947	Mar 31
1948	Mar 30
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 16
1951	Apr 5
1952	Mar 29
1953	Apr 21
1954	Mar 22
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 10
1958	Apr 8
1959	Mar 19
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 14
1962	Apr 17
1963	Mar 23
1964	Apr 9
1965	Mar 23
1966	Apr 11
1967	Mar 23
1968	Mar 26
1969	Mar 29
1970	Apr 3
1971	Apr 3
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 11
1974	Apr 7
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 10
1977	Mar 24
1978	Mar 19
1979	Mar 26
1980	Mar 15
1981	Mar 25
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 21
1984	Mar 31
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 7
1988	Mar 18
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 8
1991	Mar 12
1993	Apr 3
1994	Apr 1
1995	Mar 11
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 18
1998	Mar 23
1999	Mar 28
2000	Mar 14
2002	Apr 6
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 23
2005	Mar 19
2007	Apr 10
2008	Mar 25
2009	Mar 22
2010	Mar 8
2011	Mar 7
2013	Mar 30
2014	Apr 16
2015	Mar 30
2016	Mar 22
2017	Mar 20
2018	Apr 17
2019	Mar 28
2020	Apr 11
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 10
2023	Mar 22
2024	Apr 6
2025	Mar 7
2026	Mar 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	228
1898	193
1899	206
1900	209
1901	198
1902	220
1903	184
1904	193
1905	207
1906	209
1907	202
1908	215
1909	220
1910	226
1911	233
1912	238
1914	217
1915	225
1916	219
1917	220
1918	246
1919	224
1920	198
1921	223
1922	231
1923	212
1924	193
1926	197
1927	226
1928	205
1929	231
1930	194
1931	201
1932	240
1933	224
1934	198
1935	208
1936	194
1937	192
1938	196
1939	184
1940	206
1941	233
1942	197
1943	185
1944	204
1945	211
1946	214
1947	222
1948	202
1949	200
1950	203
1951	211
1952	205
1953	199
1954	208
1955	199
1956	201
1957	200
1958	203
1959	233
1960	206
1961	195
1963	220
1964	194
1965	215
1966	205
1967	219
1968	217
1969	221
1970	226
1971	215
1972	193
1973	212
1974	178
1975	201
1976	191
1977	231
1978	261
1979	233
1980	235
1981	208
1982	194
1983	198
1984	220
1985	211
1986	203
1987	179
1988	208
1989	165
1990	223
1994	236
1995	238
1996	192
1997	192
1998	243
1999	209
2003	227
2004	236
2005	236
2007	202
2008	217
2009	210
2010	242
2011	236
2013	209
2014	199
2015	228
2016	237
2017	244
2018	207
2019	219
2020	205
2021	205
2022	191
2023	224
2024	236
2025	248

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	23.0 °C
1898	22.7 °C
1899	22.6 °C
1900	23.2 °C
1901	21.6 °C
1902	22.4 °C
1903	22.1 °C
1904	21.9 °C
1905	23.3 °C
1906	22.9 °C
1907	21.8 °C
1908	22.1 °C
1909	21.6 °C
1910	21.3 °C
1911	22.4 °C
1912	21.7 °C
1914	22.8 °C
1915	22.5 °C
1916	22.0 °C
1917	21.4 °C
1918	21.2 °C
1919	21.5 °C
1920	21.6 °C
1921	22.8 °C
1922	22.3 °C
1923	21.8 °C
1924	21.8 °C
1925	23.8 °C
1926	22.8 °C
1927	22.3 °C
1928	21.8 °C
1929	22.3 °C
1930	23.2 °C
1931	23.2 °C
1932	22.4 °C
1933	23.0 °C
1934	23.2 °C
1935	22.7 °C
1936	23.3 °C
1937	22.5 °C
1938	22.9 °C
1939	23.1 °C
1940	22.2 °C
1941	23.5 °C
1942	23.1 °C
1943	23.8 °C
1944	22.8 °C
1945	22.7 °C
1946	22.3 °C
1947	22.9 °C
1948	22.8 °C
1949	22.2 °C
1950	22.4 °C
1951	22.7 °C
1952	23.1 °C
1953	23.2 °C
1954	23.7 °C
1955	22.6 °C
1956	22.4 °C
1957	23.0 °C
1958	22.3 °C
1959	22.5 °C
1960	22.5 °C
1961	21.0 °C
1963	22.1 °C
1964	21.7 °C
1965	22.3 °C
1966	21.8 °C
1967	21.3 °C
1968	22.2 °C
1969	22.6 °C
1970	23.2 °C
1971	22.1 °C
1972	21.9 °C
1973	21.9 °C
1974	21.1 °C
1975	21.9 °C
1976	21.0 °C
1977	23.1 °C
1978	22.1 °C
1979	21.6 °C
1980	23.1 °C
1981	22.5 °C
1982	21.3 °C
1983	21.5 °C
1984	20.8 °C
1985	21.5 °C
1986	22.8 °C
1987	22.3 °C
1988	21.9 °C
1989	21.3 °C
1990	22.6 °C
1991	23.0 °C
1992	21.9 °C
1993	22.9 °C
1994	22.2 °C
1995	22.6 °C
1996	22.5 °C
1997	21.2 °C
1998	23.4 °C
1999	22.6 °C
2000	23.0 °C
2001	22.4 °C
2002	23.0 °C
2003	22.0 °C
2004	22.5 °C
2005	22.3 °C
2007	23.1 °C
2008	23.0 °C
2009	22.7 °C
2010	24.6 °C
2011	24.0 °C
2012	23.6 °C
2013	22.1 °C
2014	22.7 °C
2015	23.3 °C
2016	24.0 °C
2017	23.0 °C
2018	23.4 °C
2019	23.8 °C
2020	22.4 °C
2021	22.1 °C
2022	22.5 °C
2023	21.9 °C
2024	23.2 °C
2025	22.9 °C
2026	23.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Clemson's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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