Frost dates Florida Orlando

Frost dates in Orlando, Florida

Last spring frost Jan 17 First freeze of winter Jan 13 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Orlando is Jan 17 and the average first freeze of winter is Jan 13, measured at ORLANDO EXECUTIVE AP, 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 frostJan 1732°F, 50% probability
Average first freeze of winterJan 1332°F, 50% probability

Winters are mild here: the first freeze of the cold season usually comes after New Year (Jan 13), close to the last one (Jan 17), so there is no frost-free season to count. Frost matters for a few weeks in midwinter only.

How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (winter)
90%Dec 26Feb 6
50%Jan 17Jan 13
10%Feb 9Dec 23

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Jan 17, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Feb 9. In 1 year in 10 the first freeze of the cold season arrives before Dec 23.

Measured at: ORLANDO EXECUTIVE AP, FL (NOAA station USW00012841), about 3 miles away at 108 ft, 22 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • ORLANDO INTL AP, FL (NOAA station USW00012815), about 8 miles away at 90 ft, 28 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 25, first freeze of winter Jan 10
  • KISSIMMEE 2, FL (NOAA station USC00084625), about 18 miles away at 60 ft, 24 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 28, first freeze of winter Jan 6

Seed-starting schedule for Orlando, FL

Counted from a last frost date of Jan 17 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Oct 1114 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekOct 11 to Oct 25
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionOct 11 to Oct 25
  2. Week of Oct 1813 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyOct 18 to Oct 25
  3. Week of Oct 2512 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryOct 25 to Nov 8
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachOct 25 to Nov 8
  4. Week of Nov 810 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliNov 8 to Nov 22
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutNov 8 to Nov 22
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageNov 8 to Nov 22
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleNov 8 to Nov 22
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiNov 8 to Nov 22
  5. Week of Nov 159 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceNov 15 to Nov 22
  6. Week of Nov 228 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerNov 22 to Dec 6
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantNov 22 to Dec 6
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperNov 22 to Dec 6
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardNov 22 to Dec 6
  7. Week of Nov 297 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoNov 29 to Dec 13
  8. Week of Dec 66 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilDec 6 to Dec 20
    • Set transplants outSpinachDec 6 to Dec 27
  9. Week of Dec 204 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishDec 20 to Jan 3
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Dec 20
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipDec 20 to Jan 3
    • Set transplants outBroccoliDec 20 to Jan 3
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutDec 20 to Jan 3
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Dec 20
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Dec 20
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Dec 20
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Dec 20
    • Set transplants outLettuceDec 20 to Dec 27
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Dec 20
  10. Week of Dec 273 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberDec 27 to Jan 3
    • Set transplants outParsleyDec 27 to Jan 3
  11. Week of Jan 32 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Jan 3
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Jan 3
  12. Week of Jan 17Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Jan 17
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Jan 17
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Jan 17
  13. Week of Jan 241 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoJan 24 to Jan 31
    • Set transplants outCucumberJan 24 to Jan 31
    • Set transplants outTomatoJan 24 to Jan 31
  14. Week of Jan 312 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outEggplantJan 31 to Feb 7
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Jan 31
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Jan 31

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

More in Florida

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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