Frost dates and when to plant in Louisiana

United States

In Louisiana the last spring frost comes between 22 January (New Orleans) and 20 February (Shreveport) — the median of 2016–2025 in 4 cities. The first autumn frost comes between 6 December (Lafayette) and 15 December (New Orleans). The frost-free season lasts 290–327 days. Tomato: plant out into open ground 29 January – 25 August, earliest in New Orleans, latest in New Orleans.

Frost dates by city in Louisiana

City	Last spring frost	First autumn frost	Frost-free days	Climate zone	Tomato: window
New Orleans	22 January	15 December	327	270 frost-free days or more	29 January – 25 August
Baton Rouge	6 February	9 December	306	270 frost-free days or more	13 February – 19 August
Lafayette	19 February	6 December	290	270 frost-free days or more	26 February – 16 August
Shreveport	20 February	9 December	292	270 frost-free days or more	27 February – 19 August

Median of 2016–2025 for the 25 km grid cell of the city: the last day at or below 0 °C in spring and the first in autumn (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo). In a cold year a frost can come a week or two later — Greenly warns 48 hours ahead.

When to plant in Louisiana: windows by crop

The earliest start and the latest end among the cities here, each with its city; every city’s own window is on its page. 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.

Crop	Planting out or sowing
Tomato	29 January (New Orleans) – 25 August (New Orleans)
Cucumber	23 February (New Orleans) – 30 September (New Orleans)
Bell Pepper, Eggplant	23 February (New Orleans) – 25 August (New Orleans)
Zucchini	23 February (New Orleans) – 28 September (New Orleans)
Pumpkin	23 February (New Orleans) – 20 August (New Orleans)
Watermelon	23 February (New Orleans) – 5 September (New Orleans)
Peas	1 January (New Orleans) – 2 October (New Orleans)
Garlic, Tulip, Daffodil, Crocus, Hyacinth	Autumn planting: by 15 November (New Orleans)

Weather by month in Louisiana

Across the 4 cities the warmest month is August (average days 31.2 … 34 °C) and the coldest January (average nights 4.5 … 8.5 °C). No city here averages below 0 °C at night in any month.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm
January	14 … 16.7 °C	4.5 … 8.5 °C	131
February	17.1 … 20.2 °C	7 … 11.8 °C	113
March	21.3 … 22.9 °C	10.9 … 14.6 °C	130
April	24.1 … 25.4 °C	13.9 … 17 °C	137
May	28.2 … 29.4 °C	18.6 … 21.1 °C	151
June	30.8 … 32.1 °C	22.6 … 24.1 °C	134
July	31.2 … 34 °C	24.4 … 25.1 °C	171
August	31.2 … 34 °C	24.3 … 25.4 °C	192
September	29.8 … 31.3 °C	21.4 … 23.5 °C	121
October	26.4 … 27.5 °C	15.9 … 19.2 °C	80
November	20 … 22 °C	10 … 13.9 °C	82
December	16.2 … 18.8 °C	7.3 … 11.1 °C	134

Day and night: the lowest … highest monthly average among the cities; rain: the middle city (ERA5 via Open-Meteo).

Frost dates and when to plant in Louisiana

Frost dates by city in Louisiana

When to plant in Louisiana: windows by crop

Weather by month in Louisiana

What to plant month by month: the South

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