When to plant in Shelby, MI

Planting dates worked out from Shelby'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 2

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 21

1 year in 10 by Oct 4

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mt Clemens Ang Base · 18.9 km away · station 177 m, town 207 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 1 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 19	May 15
Peas	—	Apr 5 – May 3	May 30
Bush beans	—	May 9 – May 30	Jun 28
Carrot	—	Apr 15 – May 27	Jun 14
Beet	—	Apr 15 – May 27	Jun 4
Potato	—	Apr 15 – May 6	Jun 24
Kale	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 25
Broccoli	Feb 22 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 4
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 5 – Apr 26	Jul 4
Garlic	—	Oct 7 – Nov 4 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 5 – May 3	May 13
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Shelby

Shelby'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
1897	May 26
1898	May 6
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 10
1906	May 29
1907	May 28
1908	May 6
1909	May 16
1911	May 14
1912	Apr 28
1913	May 11
1914	May 2
1915	May 27
1916	Apr 15
1917	May 21
1918	Jun 23
1919	Apr 27
1920	May 15
1922	May 1
1923	May 13
1924	May 22
1925	May 18
1930	Apr 26
1931	Apr 30
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	May 12
1935	May 23
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 16
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 14
1940	Apr 28
1941	Apr 25
1942	Apr 13
1943	May 1
1944	Apr 19
1945	May 1
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 17
1949	Apr 25
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 12
1953	Apr 28
1954	Apr 9
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 23
1957	Apr 15
1958	May 5
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 19
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 17
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 25
1965	Apr 21
1966	May 13
1967	May 23
1968	May 6
1969	May 1
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 27
1976	May 4
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 5
1980	Apr 21
1981	May 7
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 16
1984	May 2
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 9
1988	Apr 25
1990	Apr 18
1992	May 5
1994	May 27
1995	Apr 15
1996	May 13
1997	Apr 20
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 26
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 27
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 28
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 16
2010	May 10
2011	May 20
2012	Apr 29
2013	May 13
2014	Apr 27
2015	Apr 26
2016	Apr 27
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 13
2021	May 1
2022	Apr 29
2023	May 18
2024	Apr 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	117
1898	162
1899	163
1906	133
1907	133
1908	148
1912	170
1913	159
1914	175
1915	135
1916	156
1917	140
1920	167
1922	148
1923	123
1924	153
1925	145
1930	174
1931	170
1932	164
1933	180
1934	154
1935	131
1936	171
1937	179
1938	203
1939	182
1940	176
1941	185
1942	167
1943	145
1944	179
1945	166
1946	197
1947	143
1948	183
1949	183
1950	170
1951	188
1952	173
1953	189
1954	204
1955	196
1956	199
1957	195
1958	185
1959	179
1960	187
1961	185
1962	189
1963	143
1964	162
1965	165
1966	141
1967	148
1968	175
1969	173
1970	161
1974	144
1975	182
1976	142
1977	155
1978	165
1979	158
1980	190
1981	168
1982	176
1983	163
1984	183
1986	167
1987	186
1990	187
1994	158
1995	202
1996	171
1997	184
1998	189
1999	164
2000	184
2001	160
2003	157
2005	176
2006	166
2007	199
2008	171
2009	177
2010	164
2011	160
2012	187
2013	163
2014	187
2015	175
2016	181
2017	169
2018	169
2019	179
2020	164
2021	185
2022	173
2023	157
2024	183

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	16.3 °C
1898	17.3 °C
1899	17.6 °C
1900	18.4 °C
1906	17.4 °C
1908	16.8 °C
1909	15.5 °C
1912	17.0 °C
1913	17.1 °C
1914	17.2 °C
1915	16.5 °C
1916	17.7 °C
1917	15.4 °C
1922	17.3 °C
1923	17.3 °C
1924	16.4 °C
1925	18.4 °C
1930	17.0 °C
1931	17.5 °C
1932	16.9 °C
1933	18.2 °C
1934	17.5 °C
1935	16.4 °C
1936	17.1 °C
1937	17.3 °C
1938	17.3 °C
1939	17.5 °C
1940	16.1 °C
1941	18.3 °C
1942	17.6 °C
1943	16.6 °C
1944	17.8 °C
1945	16.3 °C
1946	16.6 °C
1947	17.0 °C
1948	17.5 °C
1949	18.0 °C
1950	16.1 °C
1951	16.5 °C
1952	18.0 °C
1953	17.7 °C
1954	17.2 °C
1955	19.5 °C
1956	16.5 °C
1957	17.0 °C
1958	16.9 °C
1959	18.5 °C
1960	17.3 °C
1961	16.9 °C
1962	17.5 °C
1963	15.8 °C
1964	16.3 °C
1965	15.5 °C
1966	15.7 °C
1967	15.8 °C
1968	16.8 °C
1969	17.3 °C
1970	16.9 °C
1971	16.6 °C
1974	16.6 °C
1975	16.0 °C
1976	16.3 °C
1977	17.6 °C
1978	16.1 °C
1979	15.8 °C
1980	16.7 °C
1981	16.4 °C
1982	16.0 °C
1983	16.6 °C
1984	16.3 °C
1986	17.0 °C
1987	18.2 °C
1990	16.9 °C
1992	15.5 °C
1994	17.1 °C
1995	17.8 °C
1996	16.8 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	18.4 °C
1999	18.6 °C
2000	16.8 °C
2001	17.5 °C
2002	17.7 °C
2003	16.9 °C
2004	17.0 °C
2005	18.3 °C
2006	17.5 °C
2007	17.5 °C
2008	17.3 °C
2009	16.4 °C
2010	18.6 °C
2011	16.9 °C
2012	18.0 °C
2013	16.9 °C
2014	16.6 °C
2015	17.5 °C
2016	17.8 °C
2017	17.6 °C
2018	17.8 °C
2019	17.5 °C
2020	17.1 °C
2021	18.1 °C
2022	17.5 °C
2023	16.8 °C
2024	18.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Shelby's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Mt Clemens Ang Base (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Utica Rochester Rochester Hills Sterling Heights Troy Clinton Township