Rensselaer, NY 12202 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Rensselaer, NY?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/27, roughly 242 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 169 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 Rensselaer, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Rensselaer before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/16 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rensselaer compares
At roughly 169 frost-free days, Rensselaer places 29,388 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NY, it ranks 792 of 1,951.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Rensselaer can differ from the 12202 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Rensselaer's frost date answer different questions.