First frosts 2021

[Nicos]

Just for your records, but seeing as it’s been a very strange year weather wise, it will be interesting to see when your first frosts appear .

Who will be first?

[ameno]

Bit premature, isn't it?

[Nicos]

Well…….who knows!

[Nicos]

Here is last year’s for a comparison….

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ds#post2509342

[quanglewangle]

Hoping for after Christmas. See map from the excellent https://www.plantmaps.com/interactiv...t-date-map.php

[Nicos]

Which zone are you in Q…17?

[quanglewangle]

Which zone are you in Q?

17. On that map we are on the north coast just east of lands end.

[greenishfing]

On the map we are in zone 13. I just hope that we really are.

[Nicos]

Most years we get a few nights of -15 to -18C which sees off so many plants - apparently back in the 1980’s there was one night of -28C which saw off many young trees and most shrubs.
Its hard to choose garden plants with temperature variation between +40C to -18C most years.
Early and late frosts create added excitement!

[quanglewangle]

There are quite big local variations within those zones. My daughter lives only six miles away in Penzance on the other, south, coast and she is usually 1°- 2°C warmer than us.
She's also 130m lower and protected from prevailing winds.

So zone is not the whole story.

[Nicos]

According to those maps I’m near the border of zones 9 and 10…last frosts 1-20 April
My last frosts are regularly during the last week May/ first week June.

As you say Q….it’s not the whole story ….but I can dream……

[ameno]

According to those maps, I'm zone 11 for first frosts, but I'd say my first frost most years is late November or even early December, which makes me more zone 12 or 13. Maybe being in a town centre warms things up more?
My patio, for instance, is very sheltered, and frequently remains frost-free until Christmas.
For last frosts I'm supposedly in zone 7 (Mar 11-20), which actually sounds about right most years. Mid- to late March is usually my last frost. The last two years have both seen frosts in May, though, which is pretty unusual where I live.

[Bren In Pots]

It says I'm in Zone 12 Nov. 21 - Nov. 30 but thats fair bit way out in the last 3 years my first frost has been in September

27th Sept
8th Sept
24th Sept

[quanglewangle]

We gardeners throw around the term frost but met office [1] has at least three different definitions:

• ground frost (can occur without the air dropping below 0°C)
• grass frost (a sort of informal ground frost)
• air frost - air below 0°C (at 1.5m above ground, I think)

Not sure which one the maps mean.

[1]https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/frost-and-ice/frost

[Snoop Puss]

That's an impressive map. I have to say I don't understand hardiness zones. We're in zone 9a, whatever that means. The first and last frost dates it gives match our real dates surprisingly well.

Edited: it gives first frost date as 21 October, which is right these days. It used to be 17 October, every year. The map gives last frost date as 10 April, which is the date I use for planning the veg patch. Occasionally, it can be as late as early May, but that really is an outlier year.