Yes — Strong Match
red clover is grown in zones 3-10, which covers every zone Georgia contains (7a-9b). Whether the season is long enough is the question that remains.
Red Clover in Georgia — the short answer
Red Clover in Georgia: grown in zones 3–10, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 3-10
- Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 3a–9b
- Georgia zones
- 7a-9b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 17 - Mar 10 – Nov 24 - Dec 4
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 204 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 140 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Georgia spans zones 7a-9b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score red clover against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
Georgia is not one climate
A single Georgia answer averages 159 counties whose growing seasons are 101 days apart — from 204 frost-free days in Towns County to 305 in Colquitt County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what red clover can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 159 counties runs 259–290 days, with a median of 275 days — a 101-day span end to end.
Measured across 159 Georgia counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where in Georgia Fits Best
Even within Georgia's zones 7a-9b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for red clover (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Red Clover Needs
- USDA Zones: 3-10
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 2 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Low
Georgia Has
- USDA Zones: 7a-9b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 17 - Mar 10
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 24 - Dec 4
- Annual Rainfall: 45-55 inches
- Common Soils: Red clay (Piedmont), Sandy loam (Coastal Plain), Alluvial
Plant Zone Range (zones 3-10)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Red Clover in Georgia
The frost window
Across Georgia, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 17 and Mar 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 24 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 259-day window you can count on — up to 290 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Red Clover is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Georgia's dates above are the whole calendar for it. That makes the last-freeze date the binding constraint, and a warmer pocket of your own yard is worth more to this crop than it is to a transplanted one.
Winter standing
Georgia runs as cold as USDA zone 7, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for red clover, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether red clover is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Georgia; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
Red Clover is grown in zones 3–10, which covers every zone Georgia contains (7a-9b). We have no sourced winter-survival figure for red clover, so this page does not say whether it overwinters here. Georgia's typical season runs ~275 frost-free days against the ~120 red clover needs.
Growing degree days
Red Clover needs ~1800 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~5616 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Georgia's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Red Clover tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8.2) — 3.7 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Georgia. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Georgia soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells). If your Georgia site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Georgia soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Red Clover in Georgia
The zone range tells you where red clover is grown — but Georgia growers also need to think about:
Heavy red Piedmont clay is difficult to work and drains poorly
High humidity drives fungal diseases in summer
Fire ants are a persistent pest in gardens across the state
Summer heat (90-100F) can stress cool-season crops by May
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Georgia grower, not just red clover — is covered on the Georgia growing guide.
Where in Georgia Red Clover Is Zone-Hardy
Red Clover is rated for USDA zones 3–10. Every one of Georgia’s 159 counties sits inside that band — from Fannin County at zone 7b to Worth County at zone 9a — so winter cold is not what decides this plant anywhere in the state. What is left to vary is your own parcel: slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from the county figure.
Across those 159 counties Georgia’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 7b in Fannin County to zone 9a in Worth County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Union County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about Apr 7, while Worth County is clear by Feb 7 — 59 days apart. Set red clover out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Red Clover’s zone 3–10 band: Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 3a–9b. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Red Clover draws honeybees, native bees, and butterflies (high value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, red clover can only work that bloom inside Georgia's frost window — roughly 275 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 17 - Mar 10) and closing at the first (Nov 24 - Dec 4), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Georgia Cooperative Extension
For Georgia-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for red clover, the canonical source is UGA Cooperative Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Red Clover native to Georgia?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Red Clover as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Georgia's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Georgia natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Georgia growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Georgia and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Red Clover in Georgia
When can I plant Red Clover in Georgia?
Georgia's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 17 and Mar 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 24 and Dec 4 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Red Clover, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Georgia and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Red Clover grown in across Georgia?
Georgia spans USDA hardiness zones 7a-9b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Red Clover carries a range of zones 3-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Georgia site have?
A typical Georgia site sees ~275 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Red Clover needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Red Clover native to Georgia?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Red Clover as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Georgia's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Georgia natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Red Clover in Georgia?
Red Clover tolerates pH 4.5-8.2 and poorly (saturated >50% of year), well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3.7-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Georgia site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Red Clover actually grow on my specific land in Georgia?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores red clover against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Georgia
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores red clover against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Georgia red clover averages can't show:
We read public map data around Georgia — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Georgia red clover average
Explore More
Growing guides for red clover
Explore Georgia county by county
Georgia carries 159 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for red clover there:
Where else red clover grows
Red Clover's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Georgia in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Georgia
Georgia has a growing page for 1,029 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Last updated: