Baltimore, MD 21027 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Baltimore, MD?
Around 04/02 is the usual last spring frost, about 217 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/07, about 220 frost-free days later.
Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 Baltimore, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Baltimore 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
04/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/20 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Baltimore compares
About 220 days separate Baltimore's last and first frost, putting it 12,629 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MD, it ranks 136 of 583.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8a and Baltimore's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Baltimore's dates instead of trusting one.