When to Plant Garlic in Zones 7-8 (2026)

Garlic needs a cold stretch to form a full bulb, so it is planted in fall and harvested the following summer. In the Southeast that fall date lands later than the advice written for cold northern states, which is why a generic “plant before the first hard freeze” rule can mislead a southern gardener.

Plant in the fall, and in October

Clemson Extension’s garlic guide is plain: garlic must be planted in the fall to develop fully. Clemson’s monthly garden calendar puts it in a month: garlic cloves, onion plants or sets, and shallots all get planted in October.

Start with the biggest cloves. The guide says larger cloves yield larger bulbs at harvest, so plant the large outer cloves from the bulb and keep the small inner ones for the kitchen.

Worked example

Take a garden in South Carolina, the reference point for this guide:

• October: plant cloves pointed side up, 3 to 4 inches apart in rows a foot wide.
• Late fall: cover the bed with weed-free straw 4 to 6 inches deep.
• Early summer: harvest when the leaves begin to yellow, which the source places in early summer.

South Carolina is one reference point inside zones 7-8, not a date for every garden in the band.

Before you plant, check off