Last and first frost dates in Hamilton (New Zealand)

When is the last frost in Hamilton (New Zealand)?

The last frost in Hamilton (New Zealand) usually comes around 6 August: 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 16 July, while corn waits until 7 September. The first autumn frost follows around 15 June, about 313 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.

When the soil warms up in Hamilton (New Zealand)

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 18 days before the last spring frost and 15 °C 81 days after it.

Frost dates near Hamilton (New Zealand)

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Napier (31 July) and latest in Rotorua (10 September).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Hamilton (New Zealand)

Within 15 km of Hamilton (New Zealand) OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is The Potting Shed, 2 km away.

• The Potting Shed — garden centre
  Grey Street 2/394, 3216 Hamilton · Mon–Fri 10:00–16:00; Sat 10:00–14:00; Sun closed · 2 km
• Farm Source — farm supply
  Norton Road 115, Hamilton · 2 km · nzfarmsource.co.nz
• Saint Nicks Christmas Tree Farm — plant nursery
  Te Kowhai Road East 79, Hamilton · 6 km
• Made Hamilton — market
  Grey Street 401, 3216 Hamilton · Mon–Wed 07:00–20:30; Thu–Fri 07:00–21:30; Sat–Sun 07:00–21:30 · 2 km
• Whatawhata Berry Farm — farm shop
  Mon closed; Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00; Fri–Sun 09:00–18:00 · 11 km · whatawhataberryfarm.com
• The Plant Place — garden centre
  Alison Street 78 · 3 km

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Hamilton (New Zealand)
• Selling your own harvest in New Zealand

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Hamilton (New Zealand) by month

Average weather in Hamilton (New Zealand) over 2016–2025: the warmest month is February. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: November–April (20–24.8 °C). No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in August, average 6.6 °C. About 1297 mm of rain falls in a year, on 147 days; July is the wettest month (132 mm) and March the driest (80 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).