Dover, DE 19904 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Dover, DE?
Around 04/04 is the usual last spring frost, about 219 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/04, about 214 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dover in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Dover before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Dover's last frost
04/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/22 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 Dover compares
At roughly 214 frost-free days, Dover places 14,219 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within DE, it ranks 14 of 96.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Dover can differ from the 19904 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Dover's frost date answer different questions.