Appleton, WI 54914 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Appleton, WI?
Around 05/04 is the usual last spring frost, about 249 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 154 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Appleton, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Appleton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Appleton's last frost
05/04 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 Appleton compares
About 154 days separate Appleton's last and first frost, putting it 34,203 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within WI, it ranks 456 of 860.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Appleton's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Appleton's dates instead of trusting one.