Richmond, MI 48004 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Richmond, MI?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/01, roughly 246 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/20, about 170 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Richmond, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Richmond before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Richmond's last frost
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Richmond compares
About 170 days separate Richmond's last and first frost, putting it 28,971 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MI, it ranks 313 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Richmond's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Richmond can differ from the 48004 normal.