Wellton, AZ 85347 Frost Dates
85347, near Wellton, AZ: the frost window
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 02/13, roughly 169 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/01, roughly 288 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wellton in Zone 9b (25 to 30°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
Wellton's growing season runs out in roughly 14 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 02/13 isn't a guarantee
02/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 01/19 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/05 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Wellton against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 288 frost-free days, Wellton places 4,566 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within AZ, it ranks 279 of 506.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 85347: local microclimates, on what one yard in Wellton can differ from the 85347 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 9b and Wellton's frost date answer different questions.