Frost dates Texas Plano

Frost dates in Plano, Texas

Last spring frost Mar 7 First fall frost Nov 21 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Plano is Mar 7 and the average first fall frost is Nov 21, measured at RICHARDSON, about 3 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostMar 732°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostNov 2132°F, 50% probability
Days between them259average frost-free season
How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (fall)
90%Feb 18Dec 9
50%Mar 7Nov 21
10%Mar 29Nov 2

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Mar 7, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Mar 29. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 2.

Measured at: RICHARDSON, TX (NOAA station USC00417588), about 3 miles away at 678 ft, 11 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • LAVON DAM, TX (NOAA station USC00415094), about 12 miles away at 510 ft, 21 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 10, first fall frost Nov 19
  • MCKINNEY MUNI AP, TX (NOAA station USW00053914), about 13 miles away at 580 ft, 21 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 18, first fall frost Nov 11

Seed-starting schedule for Plano, TX

Counted from a last frost date of Mar 7 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Nov 2914 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekNov 29 to Dec 13
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionNov 29 to Dec 13
  2. Week of Dec 613 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyDec 6 to Dec 13
  3. Week of Dec 1312 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryDec 13 to Dec 27
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachDec 13 to Dec 27
  4. Week of Dec 2710 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiDec 27 to Jan 10
  5. Week of Jan 39 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceJan 3 to Jan 10
  6. Week of Jan 108 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerJan 10 to Jan 24
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantJan 10 to Jan 24
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperJan 10 to Jan 24
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardJan 10 to Jan 24
  7. Week of Jan 177 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoJan 17 to Jan 31
  8. Week of Jan 246 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilJan 24 to Feb 7
    • Set transplants outSpinachJan 24 to Feb 14
  9. Week of Feb 74 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishFeb 7 to Feb 21
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Feb 7
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipFeb 7 to Feb 21
    • Set transplants outBroccoliFeb 7 to Feb 21
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutFeb 7 to Feb 21
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outLettuceFeb 7 to Feb 14
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Feb 7
  10. Week of Feb 143 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberFeb 14 to Feb 21
    • Set transplants outParsleyFeb 14 to Feb 21
  11. Week of Feb 212 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoFeb 21 to Feb 28
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Feb 21
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Feb 21
  12. Week of Mar 7Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Mar 7
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Mar 7
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Mar 7
  13. Week of Mar 141 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Set transplants outCucumberMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Set transplants outTomatoMar 14 to Mar 21
  14. Week of Mar 212 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outEggplantMar 21 to Mar 28
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Mar 21
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Mar 21

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in Texas

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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