When to plant in Aptos, CA

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

Frost is rare in Aptos: in 7 of the last 28 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 23

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 26

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: Santa Cruz · 9.0 km away · station 21 m, town 33 m. How we match towns to stations

Aptos'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
1894	Mar 21
1895	Jan 29
1896	Apr 19
1897	Mar 30
1898	Mar 27
1899	May 14
1900	Apr 9
1901	Apr 26
1902	Mar 24
1906	Mar 1
1907	Mar 22
1908	Apr 1
1909	Apr 8
1910	Jan 25
1911	Feb 28
1913	Apr 28
1914	Feb 7
1915	Jan 19
1916	Feb 2
1917	May 2
1918	Feb 18
1919	Mar 11
1920	Mar 15
1921	Apr 14
1922	Apr 9
1923	Mar 12
1924	Mar 21
1925	Feb 24
1926	Jan 22
1927	Feb 10
1928	Feb 17
1929	Apr 8
1931	Jan 17
1932	Feb 19
1933	Apr 18
1935	Mar 22
1936	Mar 26
1937	Feb 9
1938	Apr 13
1939	Feb 9
1940	Mar 12
1942	Feb 27
1943	Feb 9
1944	Feb 27
1945	Apr 5
1946	Feb 13
1947	Feb 1
1948	Mar 18
1949	Feb 19
1950	Mar 14
1951	Mar 11
1952	Mar 20
1953	Apr 11
1954	Mar 18
1955	Mar 21
1956	Mar 13
1957	Feb 5
1958	Mar 7
1959	Feb 13
1960	Feb 24
1962	Mar 13
1963	Apr 21
1964	Mar 25
1965	Feb 13
1966	Mar 17
1967	Mar 5
1968	Apr 17
1969	Mar 14
1970	Apr 28
1971	Mar 7
1972	Mar 28
1973	Mar 22
1974	Mar 4
1975	Feb 25
1976	Apr 2
1977	Mar 31
1979	Feb 4
1980	Jan 19
1982	Feb 5
1983	Jan 20
1984	Jan 17
1985	Feb 10
1986	Feb 9
1987	Feb 25
1988	Feb 5
1989	Feb 15
1990	Feb 20
1991	Jan 30
1992	Jan 23
1993	Jan 5
1994	Feb 12
1996	Feb 26
1997	Jan 14
1999	Feb 11
2001	Jan 18
2002	Feb 1
2003	Feb 9
2004	Jan 5
2006	Feb 21
2007	Jan 23
2008	Feb 5
2009	Jan 4
2011	Apr 9
2012	Jan 18
2013	Feb 20
2015	Jan 3
2018	Mar 6
2019	Feb 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	284
1895	333
1896	220
1897	221
1898	224
1899	208
1900	262
1901	228
1902	241
1906	231
1907	283
1908	239
1909	220
1910	304
1911	256
1913	208
1914	280
1915	294
1917	223
1918	283
1919	233
1920	264
1921	151
1922	233
1923	273
1924	236
1926	326
1927	299
1928	283
1932	290
1933	225
1934	363
1935	215
1936	252
1937	316
1938	212
1939	318
1940	236
1941	321
1942	306
1943	324
1944	306
1945	228
1946	256
1947	284
1948	251
1949	241
1950	291
1951	271
1952	248
1953	255
1954	256
1955	282
1956	268
1957	320
1958	254
1960	285
1962	286
1963	233
1964	235
1965	304
1966	284
1967	271
1968	229
1969	290
1970	239
1971	236
1972	251
1973	283
1974	294
1975	266
1976	239
1977	232
1978	314
1979	289
1980	345
1981	363
1982	322
1983	344
1984	333
1985	274
1986	324
1987	302
1988	323
1989	299
1990	284
1991	334
1992	310
1993	323
1994	274
1995	363
1996	307
1997	342
1998	337
1999	322
2000	363
2001	346
2002	332
2003	286
2004	327
2005	338
2006	281
2007	322
2008	315
2009	335
2010	326
2011	238
2012	334
2013	286
2014	359
2015	327
2016	350
2018	299
2019	314

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	16.7 °C
1895	16.6 °C
1896	15.7 °C
1897	16.2 °C
1898	16.0 °C
1899	14.7 °C
1900	15.5 °C
1901	14.3 °C
1902	15.3 °C
1906	16.2 °C
1907	15.6 °C
1908	14.8 °C
1909	14.8 °C
1910	15.1 °C
1911	14.8 °C
1912	15.9 °C
1913	16.1 °C
1914	15.3 °C
1915	15.7 °C
1916	15.3 °C
1917	15.3 °C
1918	16.0 °C
1919	15.8 °C
1920	15.7 °C
1921	15.8 °C
1922	16.1 °C
1923	16.1 °C
1924	15.8 °C
1926	17.2 °C
1927	15.7 °C
1928	15.9 °C
1929	15.1 °C
1931	17.0 °C
1932	15.3 °C
1933	14.4 °C
1934	16.3 °C
1935	16.1 °C
1936	17.0 °C
1937	16.5 °C
1938	16.2 °C
1939	16.7 °C
1940	16.1 °C
1941	16.5 °C
1942	15.5 °C
1943	15.9 °C
1944	15.7 °C
1945	16.1 °C
1946	16.2 °C
1947	16.6 °C
1948	15.6 °C
1949	15.7 °C
1950	15.3 °C
1951	15.3 °C
1952	15.9 °C
1953	14.9 °C
1954	15.6 °C
1955	14.5 °C
1956	15.4 °C
1957	16.4 °C
1958	17.0 °C
1959	16.3 °C
1960	15.9 °C
1962	15.2 °C
1963	15.8 °C
1964	15.5 °C
1965	15.7 °C
1966	16.1 °C
1967	15.6 °C
1968	16.1 °C
1969	15.7 °C
1970	15.9 °C
1971	15.8 °C
1972	16.5 °C
1973	16.1 °C
1974	15.4 °C
1975	15.0 °C
1976	16.4 °C
1977	15.9 °C
1978	16.2 °C
1979	16.9 °C
1980	16.0 °C
1981	16.1 °C
1982	16.0 °C
1983	17.1 °C
1984	17.3 °C
1985	16.8 °C
1986	15.8 °C
1987	16.8 °C
1988	16.6 °C
1989	16.4 °C
1990	16.9 °C
1991	15.8 °C
1992	17.6 °C
1993	16.7 °C
1994	16.0 °C
1995	16.4 °C
1996	16.5 °C
1997	17.5 °C
1998	16.0 °C
1999	15.2 °C
2000	16.3 °C
2001	15.8 °C
2002	15.6 °C
2003	16.4 °C
2004	16.7 °C
2005	16.0 °C
2006	16.2 °C
2007	16.2 °C
2008	16.3 °C
2009	16.8 °C
2010	16.0 °C
2011	15.9 °C
2012	16.4 °C
2013	18.1 °C
2014	18.4 °C
2015	18.8 °C
2016	17.2 °C
2018	17.6 °C
2019	18.0 °C
2021	17.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Aptos's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 7 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Rio Del Mar Seacliff Capitola Soquel La Selva Beach Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley