FrostDateCheck

Lancaster, MN 56735 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Lancaster, MN?

Zone 3b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/08, about 253 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/30, about 142 frost-free days later.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lancaster in Zone 3b (-35 to -30°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 Lancaster before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Lancaster's last frost

05/08 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/24 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Lancaster compares

At roughly 142 frost-free days, Lancaster places 36,811 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MN, it ranks 696 of 943.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Lancaster can differ from the 56735 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 3b and Lancaster's frost date answer different questions.