When to plant in Gunnison, CO

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

Safe to plant out

Jul 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jun 19

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 5

1 year in 10 by Aug 27

Frost-free days

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Gunnison 3sw · 4.3 km away · station 2323 m, town 2348 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 Season likely too short	May 9 – May 23	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Aug 28
Sweet pepper Season likely too short	Apr 25 – May 9	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Sep 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 1
Peas	—	May 8 – Jun 5	Jul 2
Bush beans	—	Jun 27 – Jul 18	Aug 16
Carrot	—	May 29 – Jul 10	Jul 28
Beet	—	May 22 – Jul 3	Jul 11
Potato	—	May 29 – Jun 19	Aug 7
Kale	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 4
Broccoli	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 12	Jul 21
Cucumber	Jun 6 – Jun 13	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Aug 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Jun 6 – Jun 13	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Aug 18
Winter squash Season likely too short	Jun 6 – Jun 13	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Sep 22
Sweet corn	—	Jun 27 – Jul 18	Aug 26
Onion (from sets)	—	May 22 – Jun 12	Aug 20
Garlic	—	Aug 22 – Sep 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	May 8 – Jun 5	Jun 15
Basil Season likely too short	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 4 – Jul 18	Aug 30

Plan all 65 crops for Gunnison

Gunnison'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	Jun 30
1895	Jun 28
1896	Jun 12
1900	Jun 18
1901	Jul 5
1902	Jul 7
1903	Jul 5
1904	Jul 14
1905	Jul 6
1906	Jun 25
1907	Jun 28
1908	Jul 2
1909	Jun 22
1910	Jul 3
1912	Jul 9
1913	Jun 29
1914	Jun 23
1915	Jul 6
1916	Jun 26
1917	Jun 15
1918	Jul 1
1919	Jun 14
1920	Jun 21
1921	Jun 21
1922	Jun 15
1923	Jun 23
1924	Jun 26
1925	Jun 12
1926	Jun 23
1927	Jun 16
1928	Jul 7
1929	Jun 23
1932	Jul 6
1933	Jul 1
1934	Jun 22
1935	Jul 5
1936	Jun 9
1937	Jun 16
1938	Jul 8
1939	Jun 27
1940	Jun 11
1941	Jul 2
1942	Jun 29
1943	Jun 17
1944	Jun 28
1946	Jun 28
1947	Jul 11
1948	Jul 9
1949	Jun 2
1950	Jun 26
1951	Jun 27
1952	Jun 28
1953	Jun 26
1954	Jun 15
1955	Jul 9
1956	Jun 17
1957	Jun 24
1958	Jul 4
1959	Jul 1
1960	Jun 30
1961	Jun 8
1962	Jul 14
1963	Jun 27
1964	Jun 23
1965	Jun 29
1966	Jun 25
1967	Jun 16
1968	Jul 2
1969	Jun 27
1970	Jun 17
1971	Jun 9
1972	Jun 27
1973	Jun 21
1974	Jun 13
1975	Jun 30
1976	Jul 3
1977	Jul 11
1978	Jul 7
1979	Jul 8
1980	Jun 23
1981	Jun 19
1982	Jun 20
1983	Jun 18
1984	Jun 24
1985	Jun 29
1986	Jun 22
1989	Jun 2
1990	Jun 22
1992	Jun 2
1994	Jun 10
1995	Jun 19
1996	Jun 24
1997	Jul 5
1998	Jun 25
1999	Jun 14
2000	Jul 5
2001	Jun 16
2002	Jun 23
2003	Jul 5
2004	Jul 4
2005	Jun 14
2006	Jun 18
2007	Jun 10
2008	Jun 16
2009	Jun 13
2010	Jun 23
2011	Jun 27
2012	Jun 19
2013	Jun 15
2014	Jun 20
2015	May 30
2016	Jun 14
2017	Jun 15
2018	Jun 9
2019	Jun 24
2020	Jul 1
2021	Jun 9
2022	Jun 16
2023	Jun 26
2024	Jun 2
2025	May 27
2026	Jul 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	53
1896	32
1901	66
1902	41
1903	25
1904	38
1906	61
1907	18
1908	57
1909	85
1910	36
1912	30
1913	28
1914	82
1915	62
1916	73
1917	74
1918	47
1919	97
1920	61
1921	75
1922	85
1923	65
1924	25
1925	89
1926	57
1927	61
1932	56
1934	71
1935	62
1936	89
1937	59
1938	38
1939	42
1940	96
1941	52
1942	69
1943	75
1944	36
1946	70
1947	61
1948	49
1949	77
1950	34
1951	49
1952	64
1953	41
1954	64
1955	52
1956	51
1957	69
1958	17
1959	60
1960	38
1962	0
1963	66
1964	58
1965	55
1966	57
1967	60
1968	44
1969	87
1970	81
1971	87
1972	57
1973	73
1974	58
1975	32
1976	32
1977	19
1978	38
1979	44
1980	53
1981	86
1982	85
1983	79
1984	70
1985	41
1986	35
1989	85
1994	96
1995	37
1996	75
1997	80
1998	86
1999	81
2000	66
2001	73
2002	62
2003	68
2004	54
2005	75
2006	75
2007	92
2008	79
2009	56
2010	70
2011	82
2012	78
2013	96
2014	83
2015	101
2016	82
2017	84
2018	80
2019	65
2020	69
2021	76
2022	86
2023	72
2024	101
2025	75

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	11.2 °C
1895	11.0 °C
1896	11.6 °C
1900	12.7 °C
1901	12.4 °C
1902	11.9 °C
1903	10.8 °C
1904	11.2 °C
1905	11.1 °C
1906	11.2 °C
1907	10.7 °C
1908	10.8 °C
1910	12.4 °C
1911	11.8 °C
1912	10.3 °C
1913	11.4 °C
1914	12.1 °C
1915	11.6 °C
1916	11.1 °C
1917	10.8 °C
1918	11.5 °C
1919	13.0 °C
1920	10.8 °C
1921	11.5 °C
1922	11.9 °C
1923	11.1 °C
1924	10.9 °C
1925	12.0 °C
1926	11.8 °C
1927	9.9 °C
1928	11.2 °C
1932	11.5 °C
1934	13.1 °C
1935	12.2 °C
1936	12.9 °C
1937	12.3 °C
1938	11.8 °C
1939	13.0 °C
1940	13.1 °C
1941	11.8 °C
1942	11.6 °C
1943	12.0 °C
1944	10.8 °C
1946	11.8 °C
1947	11.5 °C
1948	12.1 °C
1949	11.9 °C
1950	11.2 °C
1951	11.6 °C
1952	12.2 °C
1953	11.6 °C
1954	12.9 °C
1955	11.7 °C
1956	12.2 °C
1957	10.8 °C
1958	12.4 °C
1959	12.0 °C
1960	12.0 °C
1962	10.9 °C
1963	12.3 °C
1964	10.9 °C
1965	10.5 °C
1966	11.4 °C
1967	10.7 °C
1968	9.7 °C
1969	12.0 °C
1970	10.8 °C
1971	10.8 °C
1972	11.4 °C
1973	10.4 °C
1974	10.9 °C
1975	9.6 °C
1976	10.7 °C
1977	11.7 °C
1978	11.4 °C
1979	11.1 °C
1980	11.0 °C
1981	12.6 °C
1982	11.5 °C
1990	12.6 °C
1994	12.5 °C
1995	11.0 °C
1996	12.3 °C
1997	11.9 °C
1998	11.8 °C
1999	10.8 °C
2000	12.5 °C
2001	12.0 °C
2002	12.2 °C
2003	11.9 °C
2004	11.3 °C
2005	11.4 °C
2006	11.8 °C
2007	12.1 °C
2008	10.4 °C
2009	10.9 °C
2010	11.5 °C
2011	11.6 °C
2012	12.6 °C
2013	12.2 °C
2014	11.4 °C
2015	12.2 °C
2016	11.8 °C
2017	12.0 °C
2018	12.8 °C
2019	11.7 °C
2020	12.3 °C
2021	12.8 °C
2022	13.0 °C
2023	11.7 °C
2024	12.4 °C
2025	12.2 °C
2026	13.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Gunnison's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Gunnison 3sw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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