When to plant in Phoenix, AZ

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

Frost is rare in Phoenix: in 24 of the last 30 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

Jan 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 31

1 year in 10 by Dec 31

Frost-free days

363

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Phoenix Ap · 6.9 km away · station 339 m, town 331 m. How we match towns to stations

Phoenix'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
1934	Jan 22
1938	Feb 18
1939	Mar 5
1941	Jan 18
1942	Mar 8
1943	Feb 11
1944	Mar 29
1946	Feb 14
1948	Mar 5
1949	Feb 16
1950	Feb 1
1951	Mar 4
1952	Feb 20
1953	Feb 21
1954	Mar 13
1955	Feb 23
1956	Mar 13
1958	Jan 23
1959	Jan 4
1960	Feb 25
1961	Jan 7
1962	Mar 15
1963	Jan 23
1964	Mar 9
1965	Mar 4
1966	Mar 5
1967	Feb 17
1968	Jan 7
1969	Mar 15
1970	Feb 3
1971	Mar 3
1972	Feb 3
1973	Jan 22
1974	Jan 3
1975	Feb 23
1976	Jan 5
1977	Jan 12
1979	Jan 31
1985	Feb 5
1987	Jan 19
1990	Feb 16
2000	Jan 3
2007	Jan 15
2011	Feb 4
2013	Jan 15
2015	Jan 2
2019	Jan 2

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1934	307
1938	266
1941	304
1942	257
1943	289
1944	240
1948	248
1949	297
1950	332
1951	278
1952	278
1953	272
1954	288
1955	310
1956	235
1957	335
1958	298
1959	360
1960	283
1961	318
1962	290
1963	323
1964	252
1965	290
1966	265
1967	295
1968	339
1969	290
1970	329
1971	280
1972	311
1973	336
1974	345
1975	310
1976	359
1977	352
1978	339
1979	293
1980	363
1981	363
1982	363
1983	363
1984	363
1985	328
1986	363
1987	339
1988	359
1989	363
1990	309
1991	363
1992	363
1993	363
1994	363
1995	363
1996	363
1997	363
1998	356
1999	363
2000	361
2001	363
2002	363
2003	360
2004	363
2005	363
2006	363
2007	349
2008	363
2009	363
2010	363
2011	329
2012	363
2013	349
2014	363
2015	362
2016	363
2017	363
2018	363
2019	362
2020	363
2021	363
2022	363
2023	363
2024	363

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1934	28.5 °C
1938	27.2 °C
1941	25.8 °C
1942	27.1 °C
1943	28.0 °C
1944	26.6 °C
1948	28.4 °C
1949	28.1 °C
1950	28.2 °C
1951	27.6 °C
1952	28.4 °C
1953	27.3 °C
1954	28.6 °C
1955	26.9 °C
1956	27.4 °C
1957	27.5 °C
1958	29.5 °C
1959	29.0 °C
1960	29.1 °C
1961	28.0 °C
1962	28.1 °C
1963	27.8 °C
1964	26.6 °C
1965	26.1 °C
1966	28.9 °C
1967	27.3 °C
1968	27.6 °C
1969	29.0 °C
1970	28.8 °C
1971	28.1 °C
1972	29.1 °C
1973	29.3 °C
1974	29.8 °C
1975	28.4 °C
1976	28.8 °C
1977	30.1 °C
1978	29.6 °C
1979	29.6 °C
1980	29.5 °C
1981	31.3 °C
1982	29.9 °C
1983	29.9 °C
1984	30.1 °C
1985	30.7 °C
1986	30.4 °C
1987	30.9 °C
1988	30.9 °C
1989	31.9 °C
1990	30.7 °C
1991	30.2 °C
1992	30.9 °C
1993	30.3 °C
1994	30.2 °C
1995	29.4 °C
1996	30.6 °C
1997	30.6 °C
1998	29.0 °C
1999	29.1 °C
2000	31.2 °C
2001	31.5 °C
2002	31.6 °C
2003	31.2 °C
2004	30.6 °C
2005	30.8 °C
2006	31.0 °C
2007	31.6 °C
2008	30.7 °C
2009	31.3 °C
2010	30.6 °C
2011	31.2 °C
2012	31.4 °C
2013	31.6 °C
2014	31.1 °C
2015	31.1 °C
2016	30.7 °C
2017	31.2 °C
2018	31.8 °C
2019	30.9 °C
2020	32.4 °C
2021	31.4 °C
2022	31.9 °C
2023	32.2 °C
2024	33.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1934, Phoenix's last spring frost has come about 6 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 12 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Tempe Junction Guadalupe Glendale Paradise Valley Tempe Tolleson