When to plant in West Branch, MI

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

Safe to plant out

May 28

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 30

1 year in 10 by Sep 19

Frost-free days

131

median, 1991–2020

Station used: W Branch 3se · 3.9 km away · station 270 m, town 291 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	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 22
Sweet pepper	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 27
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 4	May 30
Peas	—	Apr 17 – May 15	Jun 11
Bush beans	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 10
Carrot	—	Apr 27 – Jun 8	Jun 26
Beet	—	Apr 25 – Jun 6	Jun 14
Potato	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jul 6
Kale	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 6
Broccoli	Mar 9 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 19
Cucumber	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 17
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 12
Winter squash	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Aug 16
Sweet corn	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 20
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jul 19
Garlic	—	Sep 16 – Oct 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 17 – May 15	May 25
Basil	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 24

Plan all 65 crops for West Branch

West Branch'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
1901	May 15
1902	May 28
1903	May 5
1914	May 15
1917	Jun 16
1918	Jun 8
1919	Jul 12
1920	May 16
1921	Jun 5
1922	Jun 26
1923	May 24
1924	Jun 7
1925	Jun 29
1926	Jul 13
1927	Jun 16
1928	Jun 15
1929	Jun 8
1930	May 31
1931	Jun 1
1932	Jun 8
1933	Jun 14
1934	May 27
1935	May 24
1936	Jun 3
1937	Jun 10
1938	Jun 20
1939	May 18
1940	May 11
1942	May 25
1943	May 14
1944	May 10
1945	Jun 4
1946	Jun 14
1947	Jun 5
1948	Jun 6
1949	Jun 8
1950	Jun 18
1951	May 13
1952	May 19
1953	May 23
1954	May 26
1955	May 20
1956	Jun 2
1957	May 28
1958	Jun 14
1959	May 17
1960	May 8
1961	May 27
1963	May 24
1964	Jun 3
1966	Jun 1
1967	May 22
1968	May 7
1969	May 26
1970	May 7
1971	May 14
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 18
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 28
1976	May 19
1977	Jun 3
1978	May 7
1979	May 22
1980	Jun 11
1981	May 20
1982	Jun 4
1983	May 27
1984	May 27
1985	Jun 3
1986	May 4
1987	May 13
1988	May 14
1989	May 28
1990	May 12
1991	May 8
1992	May 27
1993	May 17
1994	May 27
1995	May 8
1996	May 30
1997	May 20
1999	May 9
2000	May 20
2001	May 13
2002	May 25
2003	May 22
2004	May 29
2005	May 17
2006	May 23
2007	May 18
2008	May 28
2009	May 31
2010	May 11
2011	May 1
2012	May 17
2013	May 25
2014	May 17
2015	May 23
2016	May 19
2017	May 10
2018	May 1
2019	May 11
2020	May 14
2021	May 13
2022	May 8
2023	May 26
2024	Apr 27
2025	May 9
2026	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1901	140
1902	132
1914	133
1917	85
1918	104
1919	3
1921	112
1922	82
1923	89
1924	94
1925	88
1926	74
1927	68
1928	45
1929	101
1930	95
1931	115
1932	90
1933	109
1934	85
1935	99
1936	105
1937	94
1938	91
1939	128
1940	136
1942	118
1943	119
1944	136
1945	90
1946	79
1947	109
1948	107
1949	92
1950	90
1951	138
1952	130
1953	113
1954	105
1955	114
1956	98
1957	118
1958	108
1959	121
1960	145
1961	123
1963	157
1964	100
1966	114
1967	123
1968	156
1969	135
1970	144
1971	145
1972	102
1973	125
1974	134
1975	156
1977	124
1978	159
1979	120
1980	107
1981	125
1982	85
1984	112
1985	113
1986	125
1987	140
1988	141
1989	117
1990	127
1991	135
1992	118
1993	130
1994	127
1995	137
1996	125
1997	126
1999	135
2000	127
2001	145
2002	135
2003	131
2004	123
2005	145
2006	128
2007	120
2008	127
2009	122
2010	145
2011	137
2012	129
2013	114
2014	144
2015	146
2016	143
2017	143
2018	167
2019	146
2020	127
2021	161
2022	143
2023	138
2024	164
2025	152

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1900	16.3 °C
1901	15.5 °C
1902	13.8 °C
1915	15.0 °C
1917	12.9 °C
1918	14.3 °C
1919	14.3 °C
1921	17.0 °C
1922	14.9 °C
1923	13.7 °C
1924	12.8 °C
1925	15.1 °C
1926	13.6 °C
1928	13.3 °C
1929	13.2 °C
1930	14.6 °C
1931	15.5 °C
1932	14.1 °C
1933	15.3 °C
1934	14.4 °C
1935	13.5 °C
1936	14.1 °C
1937	14.1 °C
1939	14.7 °C
1940	13.5 °C
1942	15.0 °C
1943	13.7 °C
1944	14.9 °C
1945	13.3 °C
1946	13.7 °C
1947	13.8 °C
1948	15.0 °C
1949	14.9 °C
1950	12.8 °C
1951	13.9 °C
1952	14.8 °C
1953	14.4 °C
1954	13.9 °C
1955	16.8 °C
1956	13.3 °C
1957	14.1 °C
1958	14.3 °C
1959	15.6 °C
1960	14.8 °C
1961	14.8 °C
1963	15.1 °C
1964	15.6 °C
1965	14.3 °C
1966	14.7 °C
1967	14.4 °C
1968	15.4 °C
1969	15.0 °C
1970	15.7 °C
1971	15.5 °C
1972	14.3 °C
1973	15.8 °C
1974	14.9 °C
1975	15.4 °C
1977	15.3 °C
1978	14.5 °C
1979	14.3 °C
1980	14.9 °C
1981	14.8 °C
1982	14.4 °C
1983	15.1 °C
1984	15.0 °C
1985	14.8 °C
1987	16.4 °C
1988	16.0 °C
1989	14.8 °C
1990	14.7 °C
1991	16.0 °C
1992	13.1 °C
1993	14.3 °C
1994	14.6 °C
1995	14.9 °C
1996	14.3 °C
1997	13.9 °C
1999	16.4 °C
2000	14.7 °C
2001	16.0 °C
2002	15.6 °C
2003	14.7 °C
2004	15.1 °C
2005	16.0 °C
2006	15.7 °C
2007	15.5 °C
2008	14.9 °C
2009	14.1 °C
2010	16.4 °C
2011	15.5 °C
2012	16.1 °C
2013	14.9 °C
2014	14.5 °C
2015	15.4 °C
2016	15.8 °C
2017	15.6 °C
2018	15.5 °C
2019	14.8 °C
2020	15.4 °C
2021	16.1 °C
2022	15.5 °C
2023	15.3 °C
2024	16.4 °C
2025	15.6 °C
2026	15.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1901, West Branch's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Saint Helen Skidway Lake Prudenville Roscommon Gladwin Standish