Franklin, AR 72536 Frost Dates
72536, near Franklin, AR: the frost window
Around 04/14 is the usual last spring frost, about 229 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/20, roughly 190 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin in Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Franklin's growing season runs out in roughly 8 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/29 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Franklin against the rest of the dataset
About 190 days separate Franklin's last and first frost, putting it 21,317 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AR, it ranks 657 of 687.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 72536: local microclimates, on what one yard in Franklin can differ from the 72536 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7a and Franklin's frost date answer different questions.