Gardening in Mexico: climate, frost dates and crops by region

Climate zones of Mexico

By the days between the last spring frost and the first autumn frost.

How the regions of Mexico differ

Splitting the cities in two — north (Mexicali, Tijuana, Ensenada and 23 more) and south (Guadalajara, Irapuato, Querétaro and 23 more): the last spring frost comes about 14 days later in the north; the frost-free season is about 312 days in the north and 330 days in the south; the warmest month averages 33.2 °C by day in the north and 29.7 °C in the south; the north gets about 486 mm of rain a year and the south about 985 mm.

Splitting the cities in two — west (Querétaro, Celaya, Saltillo and 23 more) and east (Cancún, Chetumal, Mérida and 23 more): the last spring frost comes about 13 days later in the west; the frost-free season is about 302 days in the west and 330 days in the east; the west gets about 486 mm of rain a year and the east about 975 mm.

The gap between the warmest month’s days and the coldest month’s nights is widest in Mexicali (36.6 °C) and smallest in Acapulco (5 °C): the smaller it is, the milder both winter and summer. Tapachula is the wettest of these cities with 2,490 mm a year, Mexicali the driest with 75 mm. The hottest summer days are in Mexicali (44.6 °C on average in the warmest month), the coolest in Toluca (22.4 °C). In none of these cities does a month average below 0 °C at night.

Which crops suit which part of Mexico

Season long enough: the days from planting to the first autumn frost cover the days to the first harvest on the plant card. 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.

Cities without a spring frost: months that suit each crop

Months whose average day is not above the highest temperature on the plant card and whose average night is not below its lowest.

Cities of Mexico: weather in numbers

ERA5 2016–2025 via Open-Meteo, 25 km grid cell of each city; dates by the Greenly calendar and the plant cards.

More about Mexico

• Mexico: frost dates by city
• Selling your harvest in Mexico
• Where to buy seeds and plants
• When to plant tomatoes in Mexico
• When to plant cucumbers in Mexico
• When to plant peas in Mexico
• Gardening by country