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

Climate zones of Ukraine

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

How the regions of Ukraine differ

Splitting the cities in two — north (Shostka, Hlukhiv, Chernihiv and 33 more) and south (Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Drohobych and 33 more): the last spring frost comes about 7 days later in the north; the frost-free season is about 194 days in the north and 215 days in the south; the warmest month averages 26 °C by day in the north and 28.1 °C in the south.

Splitting the cities in two — west (Kyiv, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Irpin and 33 more) and east (Lozova, Kharkiv, Pavlohrad and 33 more): the last spring frost comes about 9 days later in the west; the frost-free season is about 192 days in the west and 213 days in the east; the warmest month averages 25.7 °C by day in the west and 27.8 °C in the east.

The gap between the warmest month’s days and the coldest month’s nights is widest in Pavlohrad (34.7 °C) and smallest in Drohobych (27.8 °C): the smaller it is, the milder both winter and summer. Mukachevo is the wettest of these cities with 1,131 mm a year, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi the driest with 463 mm. The hottest summer days are in Kherson (30.5 °C on average in the warmest month), the coolest in Khust (23.3 °C). In all 72 cities at least one month averages below 0 °C at night; the longest such winter is in Shostka (November–March).

Which crops suit which part of Ukraine

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 of Ukraine: 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 Ukraine

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