When to plant in Clarion, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 16

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 1

1 year in 10 by Sep 18

Frost-free days

150

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Webster City · 29.7 km away · station 327 m, town 357 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 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 28
Bush beans	—	May 9 – May 30	Jun 28
Carrot	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 13
Beet	—	Apr 13 – May 25	Jun 2
Potato	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 23
Kale	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 23
Broccoli	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Cucumber	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jul 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jun 30
Winter squash	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Aug 4
Sweet corn	—	May 9 – May 30	Jul 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 17 – Oct 15 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 11
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Clarion

Clarion'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
1893	Apr 30
1894	Apr 11
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 26
1905	May 26
1906	May 28
1907	May 27
1908	May 9
1909	May 10
1910	May 14
1911	May 3
1913	Apr 28
1914	May 13
1915	May 17
1916	May 18
1917	May 11
1918	May 13
1919	May 2
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 9
1924	May 24
1925	May 25
1926	May 15
1927	May 16
1928	May 28
1929	May 21
1930	May 30
1931	May 22
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	May 25
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 23
1937	May 14
1938	May 13
1939	May 13
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 7
1943	May 1
1944	May 6
1945	May 9
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 1
1951	May 11
1952	Apr 25
1953	May 13
1954	May 20
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 16
1957	May 5
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 19
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 14
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 14
1967	May 6
1968	May 10
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 15
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 26
1978	May 6
1979	May 12
1980	May 9
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 22
1983	May 15
1984	Apr 30
1985	Apr 15
1986	May 2
1987	May 24
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1991	May 7
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 26
1994	May 2
1995	Apr 28
1996	May 2
1997	May 20
1999	May 9
2000	May 14
2001	Apr 25
2002	May 19
2004	May 15
2005	May 5
2006	May 7
2007	Apr 17
2008	May 5
2009	Apr 20
2010	May 10
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 17
2013	May 13
2014	May 18
2015	Apr 28
2016	May 15
2017	Apr 29
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 12
2021	May 12
2022	May 4
2023	May 4
2024	Apr 25
2025	Apr 17
2026	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	147
1894	180
1897	170
1898	162
1905	138
1906	125
1907	120
1908	141
1909	155
1910	144
1911	157
1913	146
1914	164
1915	140
1916	121
1917	147
1918	129
1919	161
1920	154
1921	140
1922	162
1924	126
1925	134
1926	132
1927	150
1928	117
1929	119
1930	120
1931	147
1932	149
1933	152
1934	113
1935	144
1936	161
1937	124
1938	160
1939	139
1940	131
1941	157
1942	135
1943	138
1944	156
1945	142
1946	140
1947	118
1948	178
1949	152
1950	145
1951	139
1952	148
1953	131
1954	149
1955	155
1956	126
1957	157
1958	154
1959	169
1960	156
1961	148
1962	153
1963	158
1964	174
1965	167
1966	139
1967	144
1968	146
1969	154
1970	160
1971	159
1972	157
1973	153
1974	138
1975	162
1976	150
1977	159
1978	154
1979	145
1980	130
1981	143
1982	151
1983	130
1984	148
1985	168
1986	156
1987	131
1988	157
1989	138
1990	160
1991	134
1992	145
1993	155
1994	160
1995	146
1996	153
1999	134
2000	129
2001	152
2002	127
2004	139
2005	146
2006	135
2007	150
2008	163
2009	172
2010	145
2011	132
2012	158
2013	152
2014	117
2015	171
2016	150
2017	169
2018	165
2019	165
2020	142
2021	157
2022	146
2023	158
2024	164
2025	187

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	18.4 °C
1894	20.4 °C
1897	17.8 °C
1898	18.3 °C
1905	18.2 °C
1906	18.9 °C
1907	16.6 °C
1908	18.1 °C
1909	17.9 °C
1910	18.3 °C
1911	19.4 °C
1913	19.1 °C
1914	19.6 °C
1915	17.3 °C
1917	16.6 °C
1918	18.1 °C
1919	18.7 °C
1920	17.1 °C
1921	19.9 °C
1922	18.5 °C
1924	15.8 °C
1925	18.5 °C
1926	17.7 °C
1927	16.9 °C
1928	16.5 °C
1929	17.2 °C
1930	18.6 °C
1931	19.2 °C
1932	18.4 °C
1933	19.5 °C
1934	20.0 °C
1935	17.6 °C
1936	19.9 °C
1937	18.6 °C
1938	18.7 °C
1939	19.0 °C
1940	17.8 °C
1941	19.6 °C
1942	17.9 °C
1943	16.8 °C
1944	17.7 °C
1945	17.2 °C
1946	17.9 °C
1947	18.0 °C
1948	18.9 °C
1949	18.8 °C
1950	16.4 °C
1951	16.6 °C
1952	18.4 °C
1953	18.0 °C
1954	18.6 °C
1955	19.8 °C
1956	18.1 °C
1957	18.1 °C
1958	17.6 °C
1959	18.6 °C
1960	17.8 °C
1961	16.7 °C
1962	17.4 °C
1963	18.5 °C
1964	18.5 °C
1965	17.4 °C
1966	16.9 °C
1967	16.8 °C
1968	17.8 °C
1969	17.7 °C
1970	18.4 °C
1971	17.9 °C
1972	17.4 °C
1973	17.8 °C
1974	17.4 °C
1975	17.8 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	20.1 °C
1978	18.4 °C
1979	17.4 °C
1980	19.0 °C
1981	18.4 °C
1982	17.2 °C
1983	18.3 °C
1984	17.4 °C
1985	18.2 °C
1986	18.6 °C
1987	19.2 °C
1988	19.7 °C
1989	17.5 °C
1990	17.8 °C
1991	18.7 °C
1992	16.4 °C
1993	16.6 °C
1994	17.7 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1996	16.8 °C
1998	18.8 °C
1999	17.6 °C
2000	17.9 °C
2001	18.0 °C
2002	17.8 °C
2004	16.8 °C
2005	18.4 °C
2006	18.0 °C
2007	18.4 °C
2008	16.9 °C
2009	16.8 °C
2010	19.1 °C
2011	17.3 °C
2012	18.6 °C
2013	17.0 °C
2014	16.5 °C
2015	17.4 °C
2016	17.9 °C
2017	17.4 °C
2018	17.5 °C
2019	17.1 °C
2020	17.1 °C
2021	17.9 °C
2022	17.1 °C
2023	17.7 °C
2024	17.6 °C
2025	17.9 °C
2026	18.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Clarion'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 Webster City (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Eagle Grove Belmond Oakland (near Iowa Falls)Webster City Humboldt Britt