USDA Hardiness Zone 9b
Frost Dates for 78409 — Corpus Christi, Texas
Averages from Corpus Christi, Tx US, the nearest reporting station, 1.6 miles away.
Plant tender crops after January 28, and expect the first autumn freeze around December 21. That leaves about 331 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- January 28
- First fall frost
- December 21
- Growing season
- 331 days
- Hardiness zone
- 9b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
25 to 30°F annual low
Planting calendar for 78409
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| November 19 – December 3 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| December 3 – December 17 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| December 31 – January 14 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| January 28 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by September 28 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by December 7 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| December 21 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 January 28 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Corpus Christi, Texas are past their last freeze. Harvest before December 21, which leaves roughly 331 frost-free days.
ZIP 78409 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.