Last and first frost dates in Locarno

When is the last frost in Locarno?

The last frost in Locarno usually comes around 23 May: 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 2 May, while cucumber waits until 30 May. The first autumn frost follows around 22 September, about 122 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 Locarno

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 16 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 47 days after it.

Frost dates near Locarno

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Busto Arsizio (27 February) and latest in Bellinzona (7 April).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Locarno

Within 15 km of Locarno OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop and 4 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Schober Giardini, 2 km away.

• Schober Giardini — garden centre
  Via Ferrera 103, 6612 Ascona · 2 km · schober-giardini.ch
• Apicoltura Stocker — farm supply
  Via Livurcio 45, 6622 Ronco sopra Ascona · 5 km
• Orto mio — farm shop
  Mon–Sun 00:00–00:00 · 4 km
• Brico SA — garden centre
  Via Arbigo 1, 6616 Losone · Mon–Fri 07:30–18:30; Sat 07:30–18:00 · 3 km · bricofaidate.ch
• Emporio La Stala — farm shop
  Via Cantonale 2, 6805 Mezzovico · 24/7 · 13 km · lastala.ch
• Orticoltura Regusci — farm shop
  I Casasc 5, 6528 Camorino · 15 km

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Locarno
• Selling your own harvest in Switzerland

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Locarno by month

Average weather in Locarno over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. No month averages 20 °C by day; the warmest, July, reaches 18.4 °C. Nights average below 0 °C in November–April (-9.7–-3.2 °C). About 2047 mm of rain falls in a year, on 180 days; October is the wettest month (272 mm) and February the driest (81 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).