First and last frost date lookup by ZIP code
Get your area's average last spring frost, first fall frost, and length of the frost-free growing season — derived from NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020 and the USDA hardiness zone map.
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Plant tender annuals (tomatoes, peppers, basil, marigolds) only after the last spring date. Cool-season vegetables (lettuce, peas, spinach, broccoli) can go in 4-6 weeks earlier. Stop planting tender perennials about 6 weeks before the first fall date so they harden off before cold weather.
How to read frost dates
The "last spring frost" date is the average day after which your area has a 50% chance of being frost-free for the rest of spring. The "first fall frost" date is when frost typically returns in autumn. Real frost dates vary year to year — in any given year, the actual last frost can be 1-3 weeks earlier or later than the average.
For tender plants, a safer rule of thumb is to wait 1-2 weeks past the average last frost date. For example, in zone 7 Long Island, the average last frost is around April 25, but many gardeners wait until Mother's Day (mid-May) before setting out tomatoes — that buffer protects against a late freak frost that would kill the season's effort overnight.
These dates are estimates based on latitude bands derived from NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. For precise local data, your state cooperative extension service publishes county-level frost-date charts that account for elevation, distance from water, and other microclimate factors.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. USDA hardiness zone via phzmapi.org.