Houston, TX 77204 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Houston, TX?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/13, about 169 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/09, about 300 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 15 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.
Why 02/13 isn't a guarantee
02/13 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. 03/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Houston compares
About 300 days separate Houston's last and first frost, putting it 3,995 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within TX, it ranks 327 of 2,558.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Houston can differ from the 77204 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Houston's frost date answer different questions.