Tucson, AZ 85750 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Tucson, AZ?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 02/20, roughly 176 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/27, about 280 frost-free days later.
Tucson sits in USDA Zone 9a (20 to 25°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 13 weeks of growing season left in Tucson before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Tucson's last frost
02/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Tucson compares
Tucson's growing season runs about 280 days, ranking 4,826 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within AZ, it ranks 287 of 506.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Tucson's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Tucson can differ from the 85750 normal.