Major Cities: Albany GA, Augusta GA, Austin TX, Birmingham AL,
Columbia SC, Dallas TX, Fayetteville NC, Ft.Worth TX, Jackson MS, Montgomery
AL, San Antonio TX, Virginia Beach VA
The Region.
The Lower South starts at the southern tip of coastal Virginia, swings west
through the coastal plains of North and South Carolina, into central Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It continues west through central Texas to
just west of San Antonio and includes most of major cities in Texas.
The Climate.
The Lower South's climate features humid, hot, long summers and mild winters
with only brief periods of cold weather, and short springs and falls. Mild
winters with temperatures in the 60Fs and 70Fs can sometimes give way to a
winter cold front dropping temperatures into the lower 20Fs. However, these
occurrences are usually short lived. Summer temperatures rise to the upper 90Fs
and can exceed 100F for brief periods. Combined with high humidity such
conditions can really stress plants that may do well in other areas with
similar hardiness zones, but less summer heat. Rainfall ranges from 24 inches
in the western areas of central Texas to 40 or 50 inches in areas of east Texas
through Virginia. Hurricanes are always a concern in fall bringing damaging
winds and heavy rains.
The Growing Season.
Frost dates range from around mid March and mid November in the lower parts of
the region to early April and early November in the upper area of the region.
Most areas may experience freezes December through February. This region has
two distinct growing seasons; spring and fall. Heat is the limiting factor for
growing. Summer is considered too hot to grow, yet winter still is too cold to
grow many common flower and vegetable plants. In most areas December through
February may experience frost. Of course some plants do well in summer such as
okra and winter such as kale, but most garden vegetables and annual flowers
have trouble surviving summer across our long growing season from spring to
fall. Temperate plants such as lilacs and maples needing longer, colder winters
are at their southern range here, but subtropical plants can thrive.
USDA Hardiness
Zones: 7 to 8
Published by the National Gardening Association