When to plant in Morrisville, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 3

1 year in 10 by Oct 23

Frost-free days

212

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Raleigh Ap · 8.6 km away · station 120 m, town 92 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 6
Sweet pepper	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 30 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 15
Peas	—	Feb 20 – Mar 20	Apr 16
Bush beans	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	May 25
Carrot	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 12
Beet	—	Mar 6 – Apr 17	Apr 25
Potato	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 22
Kale	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 18
Broccoli	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 27	May 5
Cucumber	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 27
Winter squash	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jul 1
Sweet corn	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 6 – Mar 27	Jun 4
Garlic	—	Oct 20 – Nov 17 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 20 – Mar 20	Mar 30
Basil	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 8

Plan all 65 crops for Morrisville

Morrisville'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
1945	Apr 7
1946	Mar 12
1947	Apr 1
1948	Mar 29
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 16
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 17
1953	Apr 21
1954	Mar 22
1955	Mar 30
1956	May 9
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 2
1959	Mar 29
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 7
1962	Apr 17
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 3
1966	Apr 17
1967	Mar 23
1968	Apr 12
1969	Apr 25
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 15
1972	Apr 10
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 28
1977	May 10
1978	Apr 22
1979	Mar 27
1980	Mar 23
1981	Apr 16
1982	Apr 10
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 11
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 6
1988	Apr 20
1989	Apr 12
1990	Apr 12
1991	Mar 16
1992	Apr 6
1993	Mar 20
1994	Mar 17
1995	Apr 3
1996	Apr 11
1997	Apr 10
1998	Apr 6
1999	Mar 28
2000	Apr 5
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 1
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 19
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 16
2009	Apr 8
2010	Mar 27
2011	Mar 29
2012	Apr 12
2013	Mar 29
2014	Apr 17
2015	Mar 29
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 23
2018	Apr 8
2019	Apr 3
2020	Apr 11
2021	Apr 23
2022	Mar 29
2023	Mar 21
2024	Feb 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1945	191
1946	245
1947	183
1948	203
1949	202
1950	202
1951	220
1952	216
1953	198
1954	223
1955	218
1956	184
1957	195
1958	210
1959	218
1960	196
1961	202
1962	190
1963	181
1964	184
1965	204
1966	199
1967	219
1968	197
1969	181
1970	192
1971	203
1972	192
1973	186
1974	174
1975	200
1976	177
1977	160
1978	185
1979	213
1980	233
1981	186
1982	208
1983	197
1984	209
1985	212
1986	178
1987	198
1988	175
1989	218
1990	197
1991	232
1992	196
1993	226
1994	239
1995	215
1996	205
1997	195
1998	199
1999	210
2000	187
2001	191
2002	208
2003	226
2004	216
2005	221
2006	210
2007	210
2008	196
2009	233
2010	224
2011	214
2012	210
2013	210
2014	199
2015	203
2016	215
2017	232
2018	216
2019	219
2020	220
2021	204
2022	229
2023	225
2024	280

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1945	22.2 °C
1946	21.2 °C
1947	21.9 °C
1948	22.2 °C
1949	22.0 °C
1950	21.6 °C
1951	22.0 °C
1952	22.5 °C
1953	22.7 °C
1954	22.3 °C
1955	22.4 °C
1956	21.5 °C
1957	22.3 °C
1958	21.6 °C
1959	22.3 °C
1960	21.8 °C
1961	20.9 °C
1962	21.4 °C
1963	20.9 °C
1964	21.5 °C
1965	21.9 °C
1966	21.6 °C
1967	21.0 °C
1968	21.4 °C
1969	21.0 °C
1970	21.4 °C
1971	21.1 °C
1972	20.7 °C
1973	21.5 °C
1974	21.2 °C
1975	21.4 °C
1976	21.7 °C
1977	22.6 °C
1978	22.3 °C
1979	21.1 °C
1980	23.0 °C
1981	21.9 °C
1982	22.0 °C
1983	21.3 °C
1984	20.7 °C
1985	21.6 °C
1986	22.7 °C
1987	22.6 °C
1988	21.7 °C
1989	21.7 °C
1990	22.3 °C
1991	23.0 °C
1992	21.2 °C
1993	22.6 °C
1994	22.0 °C
1995	22.5 °C
1996	21.7 °C
1997	20.9 °C
1998	22.7 °C
1999	22.4 °C
2000	21.8 °C
2001	22.1 °C
2002	23.0 °C
2003	21.6 °C
2004	22.6 °C
2005	22.9 °C
2006	22.3 °C
2007	23.2 °C
2008	22.8 °C
2009	23.2 °C
2010	24.6 °C
2011	24.0 °C
2012	22.9 °C
2013	21.9 °C
2014	22.4 °C
2015	23.3 °C
2016	23.5 °C
2017	23.4 °C
2018	23.5 °C
2019	23.7 °C
2020	22.4 °C
2021	22.6 °C
2022	23.8 °C
2023	23.2 °C
2024	24.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1945, Morrisville's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Cary Green Level (near Apex)Apex Raleigh Holly Springs Durham