Irvine, CA 92837 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Irvine, CA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/05, about 130 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/25, about 365 frost-free days later.
Zone 10a (30 to 35°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 Irvine, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 17 weeks of growing season left in Irvine before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Irvine's last frost
01/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Irvine compares
About 365 days separate Irvine's last and first frost, putting it 284 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 79 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Irvine can differ from the 92837 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 10a and Irvine's frost date answer different questions.