Gretna, LA 70117 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Gretna, LA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/10, about 166 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/17, about 309 frost-free days later.
Zone 9b (25 to 30°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 Gretna, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 16 weeks of growing season left in Gretna before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 02/10 isn't a guarantee
02/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gretna compares
At roughly 309 frost-free days, Gretna places 3,644 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within LA, it ranks 127 of 710.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Gretna can differ from the 70117 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Gretna's frost date answer different questions.