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USDA Hardiness Zone 9b

Frost Dates for 77465 — Palacios, Texas

Averages from Palacios Muni Ap, Tx US, the nearest reporting station, 2 miles away.

Plant tender crops after February 1, and expect the first autumn freeze around December 17. That leaves about 319 frost-free days.

Last spring frost
February 1

50% probability

First fall frost
December 17

50% probability

Growing season
319 days

frost-free

Hardiness zone
9b

25 to 30°F annual low

Planting calendar for 77465

What to do and when, based on the frost normals for Palacios, Texas
WhenWhat to do
November 23 – December 7

Start peppers and aubergines indoors

They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out.

December 7 – December 21

Start tomatoes indoors

Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early.

January 4 – January 18

Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors

These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil.

February 1 onward

Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers

The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast.

by September 24

Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas

They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops.

by December 3

Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them

A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation.

December 17 onward

Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs

Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter.

What these dates mean

Wait until after February 1 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Palacios, Texas are past their last freeze. Harvest before December 17, which leaves roughly 319 frost-free days.

ZIP 77465 sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between 25 to 30°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.

These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.

Other zone 9b ZIP codes in Texas