New Orleans, LA 70139 Frost Dates
When can you plant in New Orleans, 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 New Orleans, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 16 weeks of growing season left in New Orleans 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 New Orleans compares
About 309 days separate New Orleans's last and first frost, putting it 3,595 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within LA, it ranks 89 of 710.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and New Orleans's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around New Orleans's dates instead of trusting one.