When is your last frost date?

You have probably heard that you should wait until after your last frost date in spring to start planting a warm season again and the tender perennials. So how do you find when that is? The short answer: You can get a pretty good idea of ​​when it is based on the last frost date of your region in recent years. You can also plant certain vegetables and flowers outside before the last frost. You need to know the following about your last frost date in spring to avoid frozen plants.

What is a frost date?

A frost date refers to when the temperatures fall to 32 ° F or lower, which is cold enough to damage leaves or kill young, delicate plants. In the most fundamental sense, your vegetation period is essentially the time between the last freezing in spring (your last frost date) and at the first temperature will freeze later in the year (known as the first frost date). Of course, these events do not occur on the same days a year. And the last frost date in Chicago differs from that in Seattle.

To find out when you will probably see the last ice this winter, take a look at the map above. It is compiled from 30 years of weather data, which Noaa National Centers collected for environmental information. For example, if you live in South Illinois, you can probably plant outside in the first part of April. However, if you are further north in Illinois, you should wait until the second half of the month to be safe. You can also personalize the card information via the online database of the National Gardening Association for your postcode.

By using these guidelines, you have a window for planting outdoors. However, spring weather can often be moved quickly. Make your local weather forecasts your BFFS. You will warn them of sudden temperature waste. If this happens, make sure that you bring tender plants in containers or cover newly planted vegetables or a one -year -old with an old cotton blade until the weather is heated again.

What is to plant outside before the last frost date

Their heat -loving tomato souls have to wait for warmer weather, but you can grow cool vegetables and flowers before the last frost date. These unsung heroes of the garden are harvested, which you can grow in spring because the temperatures are still cold (and even before the last frost date). You can even plant them again for autumn color and harvest in late summer.

As long as your floor has thawed enough to dig up, you can sow the coolest vegetable with the cool season directly in the garden instead of starting the interiors first. This includes leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard, kale and spinach. Radishes grow quickly in spring and tolerate frost well.

Certain annual flowers such as pansies and snapdragons, which often occur very early in the spring in garden centers, can also require light freezing temperatures before the last frost date. Bare root trees (especially fruit trees near you) can also be planted before your last frost date-because you have not yet started to breed new leaves, you will not be injured by somewhat under-frequent weather.

So don't let yourself be deceived a few warm days in the early spring to put on your local seedlings or new plant babies from the garden center too early. Prevent a cold snapshot from owing your garden by knowing the last frost date of your region and watching the weather.