Rockford, MI 49317 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Rockford, MI?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/06, about 251 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 157 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 Rockford, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Rockford before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Rockford's last frost
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/24 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rockford compares
About 157 days separate Rockford's last and first frost, putting it 33,303 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MI, it ranks 726 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Rockford's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Rockford can differ from the 49317 normal.