USDA Hardiness Zone 9b
Frost Dates for 95053 — Santa Clara, California
Averages from Mt Hamilton, Ca US, the nearest reporting station, 11.2 miles away.
Plant tender crops after May 3, and expect the first autumn freeze around November 18. That leaves about 197 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- May 3
- First fall frost
- November 18
- Growing season
- 197 days
- Hardiness zone
- 9b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
25 to 30°F annual low
- First snow
- December 19
- Last snow
- April 15
- Winters with snow
- 100%
- Snow per year
- 18.1"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
20 of 20 observed
NOAA normal
When it snows in Santa Clara, California
The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Santa Clara, California usually arrives around December 19, and the last of the season around April 15. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Mt Hamilton, Ca US: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Every one of those winters saw snow.
For a gardener, snow matters less than frost: a light snow on frozen ground changes nothing, while a hard frost on an unprotected bed ends the season. Use the frost dates above for planting and the snow dates for getting hoses drained, mulch down and tender pots indoors.
Planting calendar for 95053
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| February 22 – March 8 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| March 8 – March 22 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| April 5 – April 19 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| May 3 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by August 26 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by November 4 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| November 18 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 May 3 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Santa Clara, California are past their last freeze. Harvest before November 18, which leaves roughly 197 frost-free days.
ZIP 95053 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.