When to plant in Corte Madera, CA

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

Frost is rare in Corte Madera: in 7 of the last 27 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 27

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 16

1 year in 10 by Nov 27

Frost-free days

328

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Kentfield · 3.8 km away · station 44 m, town 12 m. How we match towns to stations

Corte Madera'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
1902	Mar 24
1903	Apr 12
1904	Mar 25
1905	Feb 13
1907	Mar 14
1908	Mar 8
1909	Jan 10
1910	Feb 5
1912	Mar 9
1914	Mar 27
1915	Feb 21
1916	Apr 9
1917	Apr 9
1918	Apr 5
1919	Mar 12
1920	Apr 23
1921	Apr 7
1922	Apr 17
1923	Mar 22
1924	Apr 21
1925	Mar 18
1926	Jan 27
1928	Feb 26
1929	Apr 10
1930	Mar 1
1931	Mar 6
1932	Mar 4
1933	Apr 18
1934	Jan 9
1935	Mar 24
1936	Apr 2
1937	Feb 27
1938	Mar 31
1939	Mar 5
1940	Mar 12
1941	Jan 2
1942	Mar 28
1943	Feb 11
1944	Mar 27
1945	Apr 5
1946	Feb 26
1947	Mar 6
1948	Apr 8
1949	Feb 18
1950	Mar 23
1951	Mar 17
1952	Mar 13
1953	Apr 10
1954	Mar 18
1955	Mar 21
1960	Feb 28
1961	Feb 27
1962	Feb 27
1963	Jan 28
1964	Jan 15
1965	Jan 9
1966	Mar 4
1967	Jan 17
1968	Jan 28
1969	Jan 31
1970	Jan 5
1971	Mar 6
1972	Feb 2
1973	Jan 27
1974	Jan 10
1975	Jan 30
1976	Mar 5
1977	Mar 14
1979	Feb 3
1980	Jan 30
1981	Mar 17
1982	Feb 5
1984	Jan 14
1985	Jan 13
1988	Feb 3
1989	Feb 8
1990	Feb 20
1991	Jan 30
1993	Jan 11
1995	Feb 15
1996	Feb 26
1997	Jan 14
1999	Feb 11
2001	Feb 8
2002	Jan 31
2003	Feb 9
2004	Jan 4
2006	Feb 20
2007	Jan 18
2009	Mar 10
2011	Feb 27
2012	Feb 27
2013	Feb 10
2015	Jan 2
2017	Jan 6
2018	Feb 28
2019	Feb 23
2022	Feb 25
2023	Feb 16
2025	Feb 10

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1902	253
1904	255
1905	287
1907	257
1909	308
1910	278
1912	266
1914	232
1916	216
1917	245
1919	232
1920	191
1922	199
1924	172
1925	231
1926	320
1928	271
1929	212
1930	262
1931	251
1932	244
1933	225
1934	326
1935	213
1936	214
1937	296
1938	221
1939	291
1940	255
1941	319
1942	222
1943	281
1944	234
1945	247
1946	244
1947	251
1948	229
1950	282
1951	243
1953	256
1954	256
1955	239
1961	262
1962	300
1963	316
1964	305
1965	339
1966	297
1967	322
1968	325
1969	289
1970	348
1971	284
1972	305
1973	337
1974	347
1975	318
1976	267
1977	291
1978	317
1979	311
1980	334
1981	288
1982	322
1983	363
1984	350
1985	303
1986	363
1987	357
1988	325
1989	321
1990	303
1991	334
1992	351
1995	318
1996	307
1997	342
1999	306
2001	325
2002	333
2004	333
2005	338
2006	282
2007	328
2008	349
2009	268
2010	327
2011	298
2012	294
2013	278
2014	363
2015	330
2016	350
2017	349
2018	305
2019	310
2020	363
2021	363
2022	277
2023	317
2024	363
2025	323

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1904	16.6 °C
1905	15.9 °C
1908	15.7 °C
1910	15.4 °C
1912	16.6 °C
1914	16.2 °C
1915	16.4 °C
1916	16.7 °C
1917	16.8 °C
1919	16.9 °C
1920	16.2 °C
1921	17.6 °C
1922	16.4 °C
1924	16.9 °C
1925	16.8 °C
1926	17.2 °C
1928	16.4 °C
1929	16.3 °C
1930	16.4 °C
1931	16.8 °C
1932	16.7 °C
1933	16.4 °C
1934	17.5 °C
1935	16.7 °C
1936	17.6 °C
1937	17.2 °C
1938	16.9 °C
1939	17.7 °C
1940	17.2 °C
1941	17.0 °C
1942	16.5 °C
1943	17.2 °C
1944	16.5 °C
1945	17.4 °C
1946	17.3 °C
1948	16.3 °C
1950	17.4 °C
1951	16.7 °C
1953	16.1 °C
1954	16.6 °C
1955	16.2 °C
1957	17.6 °C
1960	17.3 °C
1961	17.9 °C
1962	16.8 °C
1963	17.0 °C
1964	16.8 °C
1965	16.5 °C
1966	17.9 °C
1967	17.0 °C
1968	17.7 °C
1969	17.5 °C
1970	17.7 °C
1971	18.1 °C
1972	18.0 °C
1973	18.1 °C
1974	17.7 °C
1975	17.2 °C
1976	18.1 °C
1977	17.9 °C
1978	18.3 °C
1979	18.5 °C
1980	17.3 °C
1981	18.5 °C
1989	18.7 °C
1990	19.2 °C
1991	18.1 °C
1992	19.5 °C
1995	18.6 °C
1996	19.0 °C
1997	19.7 °C
2000	18.7 °C
2001	18.5 °C
2002	18.0 °C
2003	18.3 °C
2004	18.7 °C
2005	17.5 °C
2006	18.3 °C
2007	18.1 °C
2013	18.8 °C
2014	19.0 °C
2015	19.0 °C
2016	18.6 °C
2017	19.1 °C
2018	18.0 °C
2019	18.8 °C
2020	19.4 °C
2021	18.4 °C
2022	19.0 °C
2023	17.8 °C
2024	18.9 °C
2025	18.2 °C
2026	18.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1902, Corte Madera's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 9 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Larkspur Mill Valley Strawberry Kentfield Ross Tamalpais-Homestead Valley