Hartford, CT 06180 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hartford, CT?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/17, about 232 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/26, about 191 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Hartford, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Hartford before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Hartford's last frost
04/17 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Hartford compares
About 191 days separate Hartford's last and first frost, putting it 20,676 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CT, it ranks 188 of 391.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Hartford's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Hartford's dates instead of trusting one.