Last and first frost dates in York

When is the last frost in York?

The last frost in York usually comes around 12 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 22 March, while corn waits until 10 May. The first autumn frost follows around 14 November, about 216 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 York

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 6 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 51 days after it.

Frost dates near York

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Hull (28 March) and latest in Leeds (18 April).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in York

Within 15 km of York OpenStreetMap lists 11 garden centres, 11 plant nurseries, 1 market and 3 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Botanic, 0 km away.

• Botanic — garden centre
  Walmgate 27, YO1 9TX York · Sun, Mon 11:00–16:00; Wed–Sat 10:30–17:30 · 0 km
• Brunswick Organic Nursery and Craft Worshop — plant nursery
  Appleton Road, YO23 2RF York · 5 km · brunswickyork.org.uk
• Willow Farm Cafe — farm shop
  Wigginton Road, YO32 2RH York · 5 km
• The Outside In — garden centre
  Holgate Road 10, YO24 4AB York · 1 km
• Summerfield Nursery — plant nursery
  Burlands Lane, YO26 6QN York · 6 km
• Ainsty Farm Shop — farm shop
  York Road, YO26 8EQ York · 13 km

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in York
• Selling your own harvest in the United Kingdom

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in York by month

Average weather in York over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: July (20.8 °C) and August (20.4 °C). No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in January, average 1.2 °C. About 815 mm of rain falls in a year, on 151 days; July is the wettest month (83 mm) and April the driest (46 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).