Central, LA 70706 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Central, LA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 02/25, roughly 181 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/26, about 276 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Central in Zone 9a (20 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 13 weeks of growing season left in Central 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
02/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/29 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Central compares
At roughly 276 frost-free days, Central places 5,050 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within LA, it ranks 263 of 710.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9a and Central's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Central's dates instead of trusting one.