Lancaster, CA 93560 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Lancaster, CA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/03, about 218 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/01, about 211 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 Lancaster, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Lancaster before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Lancaster's last frost
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Lancaster compares
Lancaster's growing season runs about 211 days, ranking 14,707 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,210 of 2,555.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Lancaster's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Lancaster's dates instead of trusting one.