Frost dates and when to plant in Tennessee

United States

In Tennessee the last spring frost comes between 10 March (Memphis) and 29 March (Knoxville) — the median of 2016–2025 in 4 cities. The first autumn frost comes between 12 November (Knoxville) and 23 November (Memphis). The frost-free season lasts 228–258 days. Tomato: plant out into open ground 23 March – 3 August, earliest in Memphis, latest in Memphis.

Frost dates by city in Tennessee

City	Last spring frost	First autumn frost	Frost-free days	Climate zone	Tomato: window
Memphis	10 March	23 November	258	210–269 frost-free days	23 March – 3 August
Chattanooga	20 March	12 November	237	210–269 frost-free days	28 March – 23 July
Nashville	24 March	14 November	235	210–269 frost-free days	8 April – 25 July
Knoxville	29 March	12 November	228	210–269 frost-free days	5 April – 23 July

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 Tennessee: 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	23 March (Memphis) – 3 August (Memphis)
Cucumber	27 April (Chattanooga) – 8 September (Memphis)
Bell Pepper, Eggplant	27 April (Chattanooga) – 3 August (Memphis)
Zucchini	27 April (Chattanooga) – 6 September (Memphis)
Pumpkin	27 April (Chattanooga) – 29 July (Memphis)
Watermelon	27 April (Chattanooga) – 14 August (Memphis)
Peas	17 February (Memphis) – 10 September (Memphis)
Garlic	Autumn planting: 13 October (Knoxville) – end of December (Nashville)
Tulip, Daffodil, Crocus, Hyacinth	Autumn planting: by 15 October (Nashville)

Weather by month in Tennessee

Across the 4 cities the warmest month is July (average days 31.6 … 32.6 °C) and the coldest January (average nights -0.5 … 1.3 °C). 1 of the 4 cities have months with nights below 0 °C on average; the longest such winter is in Knoxville (January).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm
January	8.7 … 10.4 °C	-0.5 … 1.3 °C	125
February	12.9 … 14.6 °C	2.7 … 4.1 °C	161
March	16.7 … 18.2 °C	5.2 … 8.1 °C	147
April	20.8 … 22 °C	9 … 11.6 °C	133
May	25.3 … 26.7 °C	14.5 … 17 °C	116
June	29.6 … 30.9 °C	18.6 … 21.2 °C	100
July	31.6 … 32.6 °C	21.3 … 23.6 °C	107
August	30.2 … 31.6 °C	20.1 … 22.5 °C	107
September	28.3 … 29.4 °C	17.5 … 19.8 °C	89
October	22.7 … 23.8 °C	11.3 … 13.9 °C	88
November	15.7 … 17.2 °C	5.1 … 7.4 °C	86
December	11.2 … 12.6 °C	2 … 4 °C	125

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 Tennessee

Frost dates by city in Tennessee

When to plant in Tennessee: windows by crop

Weather by month in Tennessee

What to plant month by month: the South

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