When to plant in National City, CA

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

Frost is rare in National City: in 22 of the last 22 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 1

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 1

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: Chula Vista · 4.4 km away · station 17 m, town 21 m. How we match towns to stations

National City'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
1921	Feb 15
1922	Jan 22
1928	Feb 15
1932	Jan 24
1937	Jan 23
1939	Mar 1
1942	Feb 15
1946	Jan 31
1947	Jan 17
1948	Jan 28
1949	Jan 17
1950	Jan 27
1952	Jan 4
1953	Feb 21
1970	Jan 3
1971	Mar 2
1972	Jan 5
1976	Jan 2
1987	Jan 17
1990	Feb 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1919	363
1920	363
1921	318
1922	342
1923	340
1924	356
1925	363
1926	363
1927	350
1928	318
1929	363
1930	363
1931	363
1932	340
1933	363
1934	363
1935	363
1936	363
1937	341
1938	363
1939	304
1940	363
1941	363
1942	318
1943	363
1944	363
1945	363
1946	333
1947	347
1948	336
1949	328
1950	337
1951	341
1952	360
1953	306
1954	360
1967	363
1968	353
1969	363
1970	361
1971	303
1972	359
1974	357
1975	363
1976	362
1977	363
1978	339
1979	363
1980	363
1981	363
1982	363
1983	363
1984	363
1985	363
1986	363
1987	341
1988	363
1990	306
1991	363
1992	363
1993	363
1994	363
1995	363
1996	363
1997	363
2001	363
2009	363
2010	363
2011	363
2012	363
2013	363
2014	363
2015	363
2016	363
2017	363
2018	363
2019	363
2020	363
2021	363
2022	363
2023	363
2024	363
2025	363

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1919	17.5 °C
1920	16.9 °C
1921	16.9 °C
1922	17.3 °C
1923	17.2 °C
1924	17.2 °C
1925	17.5 °C
1926	18.3 °C
1927	17.1 °C
1928	17.0 °C
1929	17.8 °C
1930	17.8 °C
1931	19.8 °C
1932	16.9 °C
1933	16.1 °C
1934	18.4 °C
1935	17.6 °C
1936	18.1 °C
1937	17.7 °C
1938	17.6 °C
1939	18.2 °C
1940	17.9 °C
1941	17.8 °C
1942	17.3 °C
1943	17.7 °C
1944	16.9 °C
1945	17.7 °C
1946	18.0 °C
1947	18.3 °C
1948	16.7 °C
1949	17.6 °C
1950	16.8 °C
1951	17.3 °C
1952	17.3 °C
1953	17.0 °C
1954	17.9 °C
1967	17.7 °C
1968	17.8 °C
1969	17.9 °C
1970	17.8 °C
1971	17.7 °C
1972	18.4 °C
1974	17.7 °C
1975	16.8 °C
1976	18.2 °C
1977	17.9 °C
1978	18.5 °C
1979	18.7 °C
1980	18.2 °C
1981	19.5 °C
1982	18.9 °C
1983	19.9 °C
1987	19.2 °C
1988	19.3 °C
1989	19.8 °C
1990	20.4 °C
1991	18.8 °C
1992	21.3 °C
1993	20.0 °C
1994	19.6 °C
1995	19.5 °C
1996	20.4 °C
1997	21.0 °C
2000	19.9 °C
2001	19.0 °C
2009	20.2 °C
2010	17.8 °C
2011	18.8 °C
2012	19.7 °C
2013	19.8 °C
2014	21.4 °C
2015	20.8 °C
2016	20.6 °C
2017	19.8 °C
2018	19.9 °C
2019	19.3 °C
2020	20.4 °C
2021	19.5 °C
2022	20.1 °C
2023	19.1 °C
2024	19.6 °C
2025	20.3 °C

What this means for you: This station's record is too short to show a reliable trend yet.

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

Nearby towns

Chula Vista Bonita San Diego Coronado Lemon Grove La Presa