When to plant in Florence, CO

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

Safe to plant out

May 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 5

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 8

1 year in 10 by Sep 25

Frost-free days

155

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Canon City · 12.1 km away · station 1639 m, town 1579 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 15 – May 29	Jul 9
Sweet pepper	Mar 6 – Mar 20	May 15 – May 29	Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 18
Bush beans	—	May 8 – May 29	Jun 27
Carrot	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 13
Beet	—	Apr 7 – May 19	May 27
Potato	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 23
Kale	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 20
Broccoli	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Cucumber	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jun 29
Winter squash	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Aug 3
Sweet corn	—	May 8 – May 29	Jul 7
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 24 – Oct 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 1
Basil	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 15 – May 29	Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Florence

Florence'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	May 23
1895	May 11
1896	May 5
1897	Apr 13
1898	May 5
1899	May 5
1900	Apr 18
1901	Apr 20
1902	Apr 27
1903	May 12
1904	May 14
1905	May 12
1906	Apr 4
1907	May 15
1908	May 6
1911	May 2
1914	Apr 28
1915	May 20
1916	May 16
1917	May 27
1918	May 11
1919	Jun 2
1920	May 15
1921	May 3
1923	Apr 23
1924	Apr 27
1925	Jun 12
1926	Apr 14
1927	May 10
1928	Apr 22
1929	May 7
1931	May 21
1932	Apr 29
1933	Apr 14
1934	Apr 6
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 7
1937	Apr 24
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 18
1940	Apr 12
1941	Apr 19
1942	May 6
1943	May 9
1944	May 4
1945	May 16
1946	May 11
1947	Apr 25
1948	May 11
1949	Apr 15
1950	May 26
1951	Apr 25
1952	Apr 14
1953	May 13
1954	May 3
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 18
1957	May 16
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 21
1960	May 6
1961	Apr 15
1962	Apr 30
1963	Apr 4
1964	May 12
1965	Apr 27
1966	May 12
1967	May 15
1968	May 8
1969	Jun 19
1970	May 8
1971	May 18
1972	Apr 15
1973	May 2
1974	Apr 16
1975	Jun 11
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 5
1978	May 23
1979	May 11
1980	Apr 13
1981	Apr 5
1983	Apr 16
1984	Apr 29
1985	Apr 27
1986	May 9
1988	May 4
1989	May 1
1990	May 10
1991	May 5
1992	Apr 25
1993	May 2
1996	Apr 29
1997	May 3
1998	Apr 22
1999	May 7
2000	Apr 18
2001	May 21
2002	Apr 28
2003	May 11
2004	May 1
2005	May 12
2006	May 11
2007	May 7
2008	May 11
2009	Apr 18
2010	May 8
2011	May 12
2012	Apr 17
2013	May 5
2014	May 13
2015	May 11
2016	May 2
2017	May 20
2018	Apr 26
2019	May 24
2020	May 13
2021	Apr 23
2022	May 22
2023	Apr 26
2024	May 9
2025	Apr 29
2026	May 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	123
1895	133
1896	145
1897	181
1898	151
1899	165
1900	162
1901	175
1902	137
1903	126
1904	152
1905	141
1906	199
1907	179
1908	142
1911	169
1914	159
1915	139
1916	135
1917	133
1918	164
1919	129
1923	172
1924	152
1925	124
1926	163
1927	139
1928	177
1931	161
1932	172
1934	172
1935	145
1936	172
1938	164
1939	178
1940	206
1941	170
1942	169
1943	158
1944	182
1945	134
1946	148
1947	180
1948	148
1949	179
1950	129
1951	149
1952	173
1953	161
1954	164
1955	178
1956	189
1957	161
1958	162
1959	160
1960	176
1961	162
1962	188
1963	209
1964	159
1965	142
1966	155
1967	153
1969	108
1970	152
1971	122
1973	161
1974	163
1975	119
1977	185
1979	163
1980	192
1981	195
1983	156
1985	149
1986	154
1988	147
1989	167
1990	151
1991	152
1992	165
1993	134
1996	150
1997	158
1998	178
1999	144
2001	137
2002	167
2003	155
2004	144
2005	147
2007	153
2008	155
2009	166
2010	157
2011	158
2012	170
2013	160
2014	167
2015	177
2016	155
2017	142
2018	170
2019	134
2020	118
2021	171
2022	143
2023	169
2024	159
2025	182

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	17.7 °C
1895	17.6 °C
1896	18.9 °C
1897	19.2 °C
1898	18.8 °C
1899	19.2 °C
1900	17.9 °C
1901	18.2 °C
1902	18.4 °C
1903	16.7 °C
1904	17.1 °C
1905	17.7 °C
1906	18.6 °C
1907	18.4 °C
1908	18.9 °C
1911	18.6 °C
1914	17.9 °C
1916	17.1 °C
1917	16.2 °C
1918	17.3 °C
1919	18.2 °C
1920	16.5 °C
1922	20.1 °C
1923	18.8 °C
1924	18.1 °C
1925	19.2 °C
1926	18.7 °C
1927	18.3 °C
1928	17.9 °C
1929	19.5 °C
1930	20.8 °C
1931	20.2 °C
1932	19.7 °C
1933	19.6 °C
1934	20.6 °C
1935	18.9 °C
1936	20.7 °C
1938	19.4 °C
1939	18.9 °C
1940	19.2 °C
1941	19.0 °C
1942	19.6 °C
1943	20.2 °C
1944	18.7 °C
1945	18.5 °C
1946	19.5 °C
1947	19.3 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1950	18.1 °C
1951	18.4 °C
1952	19.7 °C
1953	18.7 °C
1954	19.6 °C
1955	19.5 °C
1956	19.8 °C
1957	17.6 °C
1958	19.3 °C
1959	19.2 °C
1960	19.7 °C
1961	18.6 °C
1962	19.5 °C
1963	20.5 °C
1964	19.3 °C
1965	18.5 °C
1966	19.3 °C
1967	17.7 °C
1969	19.2 °C
1970	19.1 °C
1971	18.4 °C
1972	20.1 °C
1973	17.9 °C
1974	18.9 °C
1975	18.7 °C
1977	19.4 °C
1978	17.0 °C
1979	18.9 °C
1980	19.6 °C
1981	19.8 °C
1982	18.6 °C
1983	17.8 °C
1985	17.7 °C
1986	17.6 °C
1988	18.7 °C
1989	17.6 °C
1990	17.6 °C
1991	17.8 °C
1992	17.6 °C
1993	17.1 °C
1996	19.1 °C
1997	18.3 °C
1998	18.9 °C
1999	17.7 °C
2001	19.3 °C
2002	19.2 °C
2003	18.7 °C
2004	17.7 °C
2005	18.5 °C
2007	18.4 °C
2008	17.8 °C
2009	17.5 °C
2010	18.7 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	19.6 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	18.6 °C
2016	18.5 °C
2017	17.6 °C
2018	18.7 °C
2019	18.6 °C
2020	18.4 °C
2021	18.7 °C
2022	18.7 °C
2023	18.5 °C
2024	18.9 °C
2025	18.5 °C
2026	20.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Florence's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

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