Last and first frost dates in Anchorage

When is the last frost in Anchorage?

The last frost in Anchorage usually comes around 30 April: that is the median of 2016–2025, so in about half of those years the last night at or below 0 °C came later. Hardy crops start before it and frost-tender ones only after it: in the table below arugula can go into open ground from 9 April, while corn waits until 3 June. The first autumn frost follows around 14 October, about 167 days later: harvest or cover frost-tender crops before then.

When to sow and plant

Planting out: a week after the last frost once the soil is warm enough for the crop; frost-hardy crops three weeks before it; an unheated greenhouse three weeks earlier. Seedlings are sown so they are ready on that day. Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

What planting zone is Anchorage?

The official USDA map (2023, 1991–2020 data) puts the centre of Anchorage (ZIP 99513) in zone 5b. Zone 5b stands for an average coldest night of -15 to -10 °F (-26.1 to -23.3 °C), so perennials hardy to zone 5b or a colder zone should come through a typical winter here.

Check the official USDA map for Anchorage: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

When the soil warms up in Anchorage

The day the top 7 cm of soil first averages each temperature over a week, median of 2016–2025 (ERA5 via Open-Meteo). The soil reaches 10 °C 20 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 53 days after it.

Frost dates near Anchorage

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Vancouver (27 March) and latest in Juneau (27 May).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Anchorage

Within 15 km of Anchorage OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 9 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Green Connection, 2 km away.

• Green Connection — garden centre
  East 15th Avenue 804, 99501 · Sun 12:00–18:00; Mon–Fri 10:00–17:00; Sat 12:00–18:00 · 2 km · greenconnection.net
• ANC Market Social — market
  West 5th Avenue 555, 99501 Anchorage · 1 km · anchoragedowntown.org
• Jonny's Produce — farm shop
  East Dowling Road 1721, 99507 Anchorage · Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00; Sat–Sun 09:00–16:00 · 7 km · johnnysproduce.com
• Bell's Nursery & Gifts — garden centre
  Specking Avenue 13700, 99515 Anchorage · Tue–Sun 10:30–17:00 · 14 km · bellsnurseryalaska.com
• Anchorage Farmers Market — market
  Cordova Street 1420, 99501 Anchorage · 2 km · anchoragefarmersmarket.org
• Spenard Farmers Market — market
  Spenard Road 2435, 99503 Anchorage · Sat 09:00–14:00 · 3 km · facebook.com

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Anchorage
• Selling your own harvest in the United States

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Anchorage by month

Average weather in Anchorage over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. No month averages 20 °C by day; the warmest, July, reaches 18.9 °C. Nights average below 0 °C in November–April (-9.2–-1.2 °C). About 805 mm of rain falls in a year, on 141 days; September is the wettest month (119 mm) and April the driest (31 mm).

Average of the daily highs and lows, rain per month and days with at least 1 mm (ERA5 via Open-Meteo, the same grid cell as the frost dates).

Planted in autumn

From a month before the first autumn frost, so the roots grow before winter, to the late-planting limit on each crop’s page (about two weeks before the ground freezes, by ten years of weather).