Gaines, MI 48436 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Gaines, MI?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/03, about 248 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/12, about 161 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 Gaines, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Gaines before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Gaines's last frost
05/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/20 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gaines compares
About 161 days separate Gaines's last and first frost, putting it 32,152 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MI, it ranks 608 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Gaines's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Gaines can differ from the 48436 normal.