Memphis, TN 38112 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Memphis, TN?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/16, roughly 200 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 244 frost-free days later.
Memphis sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 11 weeks of growing season left in Memphis 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
03/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Memphis compares
Memphis's growing season runs about 244 days, ranking 8,109 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TN, it ranks 15 of 770.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Memphis's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Memphis can differ from the 38112 normal.