Fairfax, VA 20172 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Fairfax, VA?
Around 04/14 is the usual last spring frost, about 229 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/29, about 198 frost-free days later.
Zone 7b (5 to 10°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 Fairfax, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Fairfax 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
04/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Fairfax compares
About 198 days separate Fairfax's last and first frost, putting it 18,316 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 656 of 1,178.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Fairfax's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Fairfax's dates instead of trusting one.