Laurel, MD 20868 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Laurel, MD?
Around 04/05 is the usual last spring frost, about 220 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/09, about 218 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 Laurel, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 10 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.
The actual range around Laurel's last frost
04/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Laurel compares
About 218 days separate Laurel's last and first frost, putting it 13,203 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MD, it ranks 253 of 583.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Laurel can differ from the 20868 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Laurel's frost date answer different questions.