Bluffton, MN 56518 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Bluffton, MN?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/10, roughly 255 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/30, about 141 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bluffton in Zone 4a (-30 to -25°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Bluffton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Bluffton's last frost
05/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/29 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/25 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Bluffton compares
About 141 days separate Bluffton's last and first frost, putting it 36,995 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MN, it ranks 729 of 943.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Bluffton can differ from the 56518 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4a and Bluffton's frost date answer different questions.