Last and first frost dates in Tampa

When is the last frost in Tampa?

The last frost in Tampa usually comes around 18 January: 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 28 December, while corn waits until 25 January. The first autumn frost follows around 24 December, about 340 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 Tampa?

The official USDA map (2023, 1991–2020 data) puts the centre of Tampa (ZIP 33602) in zone 10a. Zone 10a stands for an average coldest night of 30 to 35 °F (-1.1 to 1.7 °C), so perennials hardy to zone 10a or a colder zone should come through a typical winter here.

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

When the soil warms up in Tampa

The day the top 7 cm of soil first averages each temperature over a week, median of 2016–2025 (ERA5 via Open-Meteo).

Frost dates near Tampa

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in St. Petersburg (18 January) and latest in Jacksonville (23 January).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Tampa

Within 15 km of Tampa OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 1 market and 3 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Little Red Wagon Native Nursery, 6 km away.

• Little Red Wagon Native Nursery — garden centre
  Henderson Boulevard 4113, 33629 Tampa · 6 km · littleredwagonnativenursery.com
• Armature Works — market
  North Ola Avenue 1910, 33602 Tampa · 1 km · armatureworks.com
• South Tampa Farm — farm shop
  dawn–dusk · 8 km
• Plantz — garden centre
  Eugene Street 6202, 33619 Tampa · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00 · 8 km · plantz.us
• Tampa Bay Farmers Market — farm shop
  North Armenia Avenue 10001 · 10 km · tampabayfarmersmarket.com

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

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Tampa by month

Average weather in Tampa over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: January–December (20.6–31.5 °C). Months that average 30 °C or more by day: May–September (30.4–31.5 °C). No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in January, average 11.2 °C. About 1457 mm of rain falls in a year, on 160 days; August is the wettest month (248 mm) and November the driest (52 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).