Boston, MA 02205 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Boston, MA?
Around 04/04 is the usual last spring frost, about 219 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/09, about 218 frost-free days later.
Boston sits in USDA Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Boston before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Boston's last frost
04/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Boston compares
About 218 days separate Boston's last and first frost, putting it 13,141 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 8 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Boston can differ from the 02205 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7a and Boston's frost date answer different questions.