Elsmere, DE 19732 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Elsmere, DE?
Around 04/07 is the usual last spring frost, about 222 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/04, about 209 frost-free days later.
Elsmere sits in USDA Zone 7b (5 to 10°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 Elsmere before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Elsmere's last frost
04/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/26 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/24 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Elsmere compares
About 209 days separate Elsmere's last and first frost, putting it 15,194 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within DE, it ranks 37 of 96.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Elsmere's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Elsmere's dates instead of trusting one.