College Park, MD 20740 Frost Dates
When can you plant in College Park, MD?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/10, about 225 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/01, about 202 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 College Park, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in College Park 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. 05/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How College Park compares
College Park's growing season runs about 202 days, ranking 17,129 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MD, it ranks 415 of 583.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and College Park's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around College Park's dates instead of trusting one.