South Carolina Plant Hardiness Zones

Hardiness Zones, also referred to as Growing Zones or Planting zones are defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The zones in this map were created in 2023 using mean extreme climate data covering the period of 1991 to 2020. The previous version of this map released in 2012 was created using climate data from the period of 1976-2005. The data in the 2012 maps covered a cooler period than the 2023 maps.
The US State of South Carolina is covered by a total of 6 hardiness zones: zones 7a to 9a. The coolest zone in the state is 7a (0°F to 5°F) in the Fork Mountain area of Northwest South Carolina. Zone 7b covers the high elevation upstate areas near the North Carolina border and the area to the East of Gaffney. Zone 8a (10°F to 15°F ) covers most of the upstate and Northern midlands area of the state including the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg. There is a small section of the upstate area Anderson and Clemson that are in the warmer zone 8b (15°F to 20°F ). The remainder of zone 8b covers the Southern midlands and pee dee regions including the capital city Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Aiken. Most of the Southern low country area of the state is in the warm growing zone 9a (20°F to 25°F ) including Charleston and Beaufort. The extreme coastal island area around Hilton Head Island is the warmest zone at 9b (25°F to 30°F ).