USDA Hardiness Zone
This information is useful for at least two reasons,
- to calculate when to plant seeds or plant seedlings outside in the garden
- to figure out how late in the growing season you can plant certain perennials, trees, and shrubs
Dates on this chart are approximations, no one can KNOW the weather, every season is different. Most years, the first and last frost will fall within two weeks of the date on the chart, but some years, we get a very early frost or a late snow storm that throws the dates off. Please use discretion (and your local weather forecast!) along with this chart to plan your seed starting and planting.
First, click on the map if you need to enlarge it and find your zone if you don’t know it.
Then find your frost dates on the chart below.
First and Last Frost Dates, by Hardiness Zone
USDA Hardiness Zone | First Frost Date | Last Frost Date |
1* | July 15th | June 15th |
2 | August 15th | May 15th |
3 | September 15th | May 15th |
4 | September 15th | May 15th |
5 | October 15th | April 15th |
6 | October 15th | April 15th |
7 | October 15th | April 15th |
8 | November 15th | March 15th |
9 | December 15th | February 15th |
10 | December 15th | January 31st** |
11 | No frost. | No frost. |
* Note: This zone is vulnerable to frost 365 days per year
** (sometimes earlier)
Thanks for the great gardening tips! 🙂 I had a question though I
was hoping you would please help me with… Is there a good go-to set of
gardening tools for kids or can they use real shovels,
spades, etc?
Jamaal,
The only problem with children is they are waaaay smaller than we are, LOL. But, of course they can use real tools! There’s a really cute set (tote bag included and having a place to keep them is KEY with children!) at Children’s Gardening Tools.