When to plant in Memphis, TN

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 16

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 14

1 year in 10 by Nov 2

Frost-free days

241

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Memphis Intl Ap · 11.8 km away · station 76 m, town 78 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 7 – Feb 21	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 29
Sweet pepper	Jan 24 – Feb 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 12 – Jan 19	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 28
Peas	—	Feb 2 – Mar 2	Mar 29
Bush beans	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 17
Carrot	—	Feb 23 – Apr 6	Apr 24
Beet	—	Feb 18 – Apr 1	Apr 9
Potato	—	Feb 23 – Mar 16	May 4
Kale	Jan 5 – Jan 19	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 31
Broccoli	Jan 5 – Jan 19	Feb 16 – Mar 9	Apr 17
Cucumber	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 19
Winter squash	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 23
Sweet corn	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 16 – Mar 9	May 17
Garlic	—	Oct 31 – Nov 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 2 – Mar 2	Mar 12
Basil	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 31

Plan all 65 crops for Memphis

Memphis'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
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 19
1942	Apr 1
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 5
1945	Mar 9
1946	Mar 11
1947	Mar 28
1948	Mar 14
1949	Mar 19
1950	Apr 15
1951	Mar 20
1952	Mar 16
1953	Feb 23
1954	Mar 16
1955	Mar 29
1956	Mar 21
1957	Apr 9
1958	Mar 21
1959	Mar 23
1960	Mar 26
1961	Mar 10
1962	Apr 16
1963	Mar 22
1964	Mar 30
1965	Mar 27
1966	Apr 6
1967	Mar 18
1968	Apr 6
1969	Mar 30
1970	Mar 27
1971	Apr 7
1972	Mar 26
1973	Apr 11
1974	Mar 24
1975	Mar 15
1976	Mar 17
1977	Feb 28
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 6
1980	Mar 18
1981	Feb 14
1982	Apr 10
1983	Mar 29
1984	Mar 10
1985	Feb 28
1986	Mar 22
1987	Apr 4
1988	Mar 19
1989	Apr 11
1990	Apr 7
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 3
1993	Mar 18
1994	Mar 10
1995	Mar 10
1996	Mar 26
1997	Mar 16
1998	Mar 13
1999	Mar 15
2000	Apr 9
2001	Mar 27
2002	Mar 23
2003	Mar 10
2004	Mar 10
2005	Mar 2
2006	Mar 26
2007	Apr 8
2008	Mar 9
2009	Mar 3
2010	Mar 5
2011	Mar 11
2012	Feb 20
2013	Mar 27
2014	Mar 26
2015	Mar 8
2016	Feb 26
2017	Mar 15
2018	Apr 8
2019	Mar 7
2020	Feb 27
2021	Mar 3
2022	Mar 13
2023	Mar 20
2024	Mar 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1940	212
1941	232
1942	239
1943	184
1944	229
1945	257
1946	256
1947	227
1948	216
1949	226
1950	203
1951	226
1952	213
1953	257
1954	230
1955	218
1956	232
1957	200
1958	230
1959	227
1960	225
1961	242
1962	203
1963	224
1964	234
1965	211
1966	209
1967	230
1968	216
1969	219
1970	232
1971	213
1972	213
1973	212
1974	235
1975	242
1976	232
1977	257
1978	260
1979	252
1980	246
1981	251
1982	208
1983	227
1984	251
1985	265
1986	235
1987	220
1988	256
1989	218
1990	236
1991	215
1992	216
1993	226
1994	275
1995	246
1996	221
1997	244
1998	238
1999	232
2000	219
2001	238
2002	238
2003	258
2004	266
2005	259
2006	221
2007	221
2008	251
2009	268
2010	245
2011	262
2012	276
2013	220
2014	220
2015	258
2016	284
2017	249
2018	215
2019	237
2020	247
2021	267
2022	243
2023	225
2024	254

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1940	22.7 °C
1941	24.8 °C
1942	23.7 °C
1943	24.6 °C
1944	24.2 °C
1945	23.5 °C
1946	23.4 °C
1947	24.1 °C
1948	23.9 °C
1949	23.3 °C
1950	22.5 °C
1951	23.2 °C
1952	24.1 °C
1953	24.3 °C
1954	25.2 °C
1955	24.3 °C
1956	23.8 °C
1957	23.5 °C
1958	23.4 °C
1959	23.9 °C
1960	23.9 °C
1961	22.3 °C
1962	23.8 °C
1963	23.7 °C
1964	23.7 °C
1965	24.4 °C
1966	22.8 °C
1967	22.7 °C
1968	23.5 °C
1969	24.0 °C
1970	24.2 °C
1971	23.2 °C
1972	23.5 °C
1973	23.7 °C
1974	22.9 °C
1975	23.7 °C
1976	22.9 °C
1977	25.9 °C
1978	24.8 °C
1979	23.7 °C
1980	25.8 °C
1981	25.1 °C
1982	24.1 °C
1983	23.5 °C
1984	23.4 °C
1985	24.1 °C
1986	25.1 °C
1987	24.9 °C
1988	24.5 °C
1989	23.4 °C
1990	24.2 °C
1991	24.8 °C
1992	23.2 °C
1993	24.1 °C
1994	24.0 °C
1995	23.9 °C
1996	23.4 °C
1997	22.8 °C
1998	25.4 °C
1999	24.8 °C
2000	24.8 °C
2001	24.5 °C
2002	24.6 °C
2003	23.5 °C
2004	23.8 °C
2005	25.1 °C
2006	25.1 °C
2007	25.5 °C
2008	24.0 °C
2009	23.9 °C
2010	26.3 °C
2011	25.1 °C
2012	25.4 °C
2013	23.9 °C
2014	23.9 °C
2015	25.0 °C
2016	25.6 °C
2017	24.2 °C
2018	24.6 °C
2019	24.9 °C
2020	23.7 °C
2021	23.9 °C
2022	25.6 °C
2023	24.5 °C
2024	24.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1940, Memphis's last spring frost has come about 2 days 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 Memphis Intl Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Memphis, AR Marion, AR Bartlett Southaven, MS Lynchburg (near Horn Lake), MS Horn Lake, MS