Manchester, IL 62663 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Manchester, IL?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/13, about 228 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/22, about 190 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 Manchester, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Manchester before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Manchester compares
At roughly 190 frost-free days, Manchester places 21,300 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 539 of 1,548.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Manchester's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Manchester's dates instead of trusting one.