Houston, TX 77006 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Houston, TX?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/30, about 155 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/28, about 330 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 Houston, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 17 weeks of growing season left in Houston 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
01/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/29 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Houston compares
Houston's growing season runs about 330 days, ranking 2,961 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TX, it ranks 136 of 2,558.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Houston can differ from the 77006 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Houston's frost date answer different questions.