Laurel, MD 20701 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Laurel, MD?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/10, roughly 225 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 204 frost-free days later.
Laurel 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 9 weeks of growing season left in Laurel 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
04/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/25 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Laurel compares
At roughly 204 frost-free days, Laurel places 16,505 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MD, it ranks 364 of 583.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Laurel can differ from the 20701 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Laurel's frost date answer different questions.