When to plant in Mesa, AZ

Planting dates worked out from Mesa's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Frost is rare in Mesa: in 8 of the last 25 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 26

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 25

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 14

1 year in 10 by Nov 25

Frost-free days

326

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Tempe Asu · 9.2 km away · station 356 m, town 378 m. How we match towns to stations

Mesa'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
1953	Mar 4
1954	Mar 18
1955	Apr 4
1956	Mar 14
1957	Feb 1
1958	Mar 10
1959	Mar 6
1960	Mar 16
1961	Feb 28
1962	Mar 15
1963	Mar 16
1964	Mar 10
1965	Mar 7
1967	Mar 7
1968	Feb 1
1969	Mar 16
1970	Apr 15
1971	Mar 7
1972	Mar 29
1973	Feb 2
1974	Mar 10
1975	Apr 2
1976	Mar 13
1977	Apr 3
1978	Feb 19
1979	Feb 6
1980	Feb 12
1984	Jan 20
1985	Feb 2
1987	Jan 22
1988	Jan 20
1989	Jan 8
1991	Jan 30
1994	Feb 24
1996	Jan 25
1997	Jan 8
2002	Jan 20
2004	Jan 5
2006	Jan 28
2007	Mar 2
2008	Feb 17
2009	Feb 14
2011	Feb 6
2012	Mar 20
2013	Feb 28
2015	Jan 5
2016	Feb 4
2017	Jan 28
2020	Feb 6
2021	Jan 13
2022	Mar 10

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1953	259
1954	268
1955	232
1956	224
1957	289
1958	251
1959	265
1960	256
1961	259
1962	249
1963	269
1964	249
1965	286
1967	269
1968	297
1969	264
1970	231
1971	236
1972	216
1973	290
1974	263
1975	230
1976	259
1977	257
1978	285
1979	286
1980	279
1982	363
1983	363
1984	344
1985	313
1986	363
1987	326
1988	340
1989	338
1991	304
1992	327
1993	328
1994	268
1995	363
1996	326
1998	355
2003	360
2004	323
2006	305
2007	294
2008	312
2010	329
2011	301
2012	265
2013	280
2015	326
2016	329
2017	327
2020	327

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1953	25.9 °C
1954	27.0 °C
1955	25.5 °C
1956	26.8 °C
1957	26.3 °C
1958	27.5 °C
1959	27.1 °C
1960	27.3 °C
1961	26.6 °C
1962	26.9 °C
1963	26.7 °C
1964	26.0 °C
1965	25.7 °C
1967	26.3 °C
1968	26.2 °C
1969	27.5 °C
1970	26.8 °C
1971	26.4 °C
1972	27.2 °C
1973	27.1 °C
1974	27.4 °C
1975	26.2 °C
1976	26.9 °C
1977	27.0 °C
1978	27.1 °C
1979	27.2 °C
1980	26.4 °C
1982	28.2 °C
1983	28.2 °C
1984	29.0 °C
1985	29.3 °C
1986	29.0 °C
1987	29.3 °C
1988	29.2 °C
1989	29.7 °C
1990	28.9 °C
1991	27.9 °C
1992	28.9 °C
1993	27.6 °C
1994	28.9 °C
1995	28.4 °C
1996	29.5 °C
1998	28.0 °C
2000	30.6 °C
2001	30.0 °C
2002	29.8 °C
2003	29.6 °C
2004	29.4 °C
2006	29.9 °C
2007	29.2 °C
2008	28.4 °C
2009	28.6 °C
2011	27.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1953, Mesa's last spring frost has come about 6 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 13 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Tempe Asu (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Tempe Gilbert San Carlos Tempe Junction Scottsdale Chandler