Zone 8b: What Grows and How to Garden There

What a zone 8b winter means

A zone 8b winter brings only occasional hard freezes. Figs, camellias, crape myrtles, rosemary and the hardiest citrus survive outdoors in most years, and many fruit trees still get enough cold to fruit. What you grow depends heavily on which zone 8b you live in, because the zone’s two main regions share mild winters but little else.

Where zone 8b is

In the South, zone 8b covers San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and most of the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, and much of central and east Texas; inland Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama; middle Georgia around Columbus and Augusta; the inland coastal plain of South Carolina; coastal Virginia around Virginia Beach and Norfolk; and the Florida Panhandle’s inland edge. In the desert it includes El Paso and Las Vegas. In the Pacific Northwest it covers Tacoma, Vancouver (Washington) and the lowlands around Puget Sound and the lower Columbia.

Fruit in the South and Southwest

Chill hours decide which peaches, plums and apples bear. Texas A&M AgriLife notes the wide range in Texas, from about 200 hours in South Texas to over 1,000 near the Red River, and says trees that fall short bud late and bear poorly. A late frost hits low-chill peaches and early-blooming blueberries hardest, while Asian persimmons bloom later and escape.

Figs need only about 100 hours of chill and take temperatures to about 18°F, regrowing from the base after harder freezes (UF/IFAS). Rabbiteye blueberries suit the Gulf South. Citrus: satsumas and kumquats are the hardiest; Texas A&M says hardened, bearing trees withstand about 20°F, and protection is needed when temperatures below 27°F are expected for long.

Perennials, bulbs and shrubs

Camellias, azaleas and crape myrtles are reliable. For bulbs that return in the heat, Texas A&M recommends tazetta and jonquilla narcissus, crinum, oxblood lily, rain lilies and hardy amaryllis; tulips need a winter chill and fade fast in 80s and 90s heat. LSU notes that peonies and lilacs fail in south Louisiana’s mild winters.

The Pacific Northwest side

Western Washington has cool summers and mild, wet winters. WSU Extension says soil frost is rare below 1,000 feet, which allows fall and winter harvests of kale, leeks, carrots and other hardy vegetables, but gardens must drain well. Heat-loving crops are harder: Oregon State recommends early or parthenocarpic tomatoes and extra time to ripen.

Special concerns

In Texas and the Gulf South, NC State’s tomato thresholds apply: fruit set falls off once days pass 90°F and nights stay above 70°F, so plant early and again for fall. In Las Vegas and El Paso, plant in spring and fall and avoid midsummer.