Sacramento, CA 95816 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Sacramento, CA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/12, about 137 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/16, about 341 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sacramento in Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 16 weeks of growing season left in Sacramento before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 01/12 isn't a guarantee
01/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Sacramento compares
At roughly 341 frost-free days, Sacramento places 2,568 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CA, it ranks 1,126 of 2,555.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Sacramento's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Sacramento's dates instead of trusting one.