When to plant in Nanaimo, BC
Planting dates worked out from Nanaimo's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.
Frost is rare in Nanaimo: in 6 of the last 23 springs there was none at all. Frost dates matter less here than heat, so the planting table below is left out.
Safe to plant out
Feb 24
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Jan 29
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Dec 16
1 year in 10 by Nov 23
Frost-free days
318
median, 1991–2020
Station used: Entrance Island · 10.5 km away · station 8 m, town 16 m. How we match towns to stations
Nanaimo's weather over time
How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Last spring frost |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Feb 25 |
| 1995 | Feb 15 |
| 1996 | Feb 3 |
| 1997 | Feb 6 |
| 1998 | Jan 13 |
| 2001 | Feb 16 |
| 2002 | Mar 20 |
| 2004 | Jan 6 |
| 2005 | Jan 16 |
| 2006 | Feb 18 |
| 2011 | Feb 26 |
| 2012 | Jan 20 |
| 2014 | Feb 8 |
| 2017 | Feb 9 |
| 2018 | Feb 22 |
| 2019 | Feb 14 |
| 2020 | Jan 15 |
| 2021 | Feb 13 |
| 2022 | Feb 24 |
| 2023 | Feb 25 |
| 2024 | Jan 18 |
| 2025 | Feb 13 |
Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Frost-free days |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 308 |
| 1995 | 295 |
| 1996 | 288 |
| 1997 | 327 |
| 1998 | 339 |
| 2000 | 343 |
| 2001 | 317 |
| 2004 | 358 |
| 2005 | 318 |
| 2006 | 281 |
| 2010 | 323 |
| 2011 | 307 |
| 2013 | 337 |
| 2014 | 293 |
| 2015 | 363 |
| 2016 | 339 |
| 2017 | 317 |
| 2018 | 311 |
| 2019 | 319 |
| 2020 | 349 |
| 2021 | 314 |
| 2022 | 256 |
| 2023 | 308 |
| 2024 | 346 |
| 2025 | 320 |
Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Growing-season temperature |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 15.3 °C |
| 1995 | 15.4 °C |
| 1996 | 14.4 °C |
| 1997 | 15.6 °C |
| 1998 | 16.5 °C |
| 1999 | 14.3 °C |
| 2000 | 14.3 °C |
| 2001 | 14.1 °C |
| 2004 | 15.9 °C |
| 2010 | 14.4 °C |
| 2011 | 14.2 °C |
| 2014 | 15.8 °C |
| 2015 | 15.9 °C |
| 2016 | 15.7 °C |
| 2017 | 15.4 °C |
| 2018 | 15.5 °C |
| 2019 | 15.6 °C |
| 2020 | 15.2 °C |
| 2021 | 15.9 °C |
| 2022 | 15.1 °C |
| 2023 | 15.5 °C |
| 2024 | 15.3 °C |
| 2025 | 15.7 °C |
What this means for you: This station's record is too short to show a reliable trend yet.
Source: daily records from Entrance Island (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.