Scottish growing tool
Frost Date Calculator
Scottish frost tracks altitude and distance from the sea far more than postcode. Pick your region and whether your garden is lowland or upland, and this gives you the frost window from the nearest Met Office station record.
Compare all regions manually
Every Scottish region at a glance
Derived from Met Office station records, 1991-2020 averages. Dates are half-month bands because the underlying data is monthly counts of air-frost days, not observed frost dates.
| Region | Garden | Last spring frost | First autumn frost | Safe to plant out | Season | Station | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Belt | lowland | mid-to-late April | late October | mid May | ~185 days | Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Garden No 2 | high |
| Central Belt | upland | mid-to-late May | late September | early June | ~130 days | Eskdalemuir | low |
| Northeast | lowland | early May | late October | late May | ~175 days | Dyce (Aberdeen) | high |
| Northeast | upland | late May to early June | mid-to-late September | mid June | ~115 days | Braemar | high |
| Highlands | lowland | late April | late October | mid May | ~180 days | Inverness | high |
| Highlands | upland | late May to early June | mid-to-late September | mid June | ~115 days | Braemar | medium |
| Southwest | lowland | late April | late October | mid May | ~180 days | Dumfries, Crichton Royal No 2 | high |
| Southwest | upland | mid-to-late May | late September | early June | ~130 days | Eskdalemuir | high |
| Borders | lowland | early May | late October | mid-to-late May | ~175 days | Charterhall | high |
| Borders | upland | mid-to-late May | late September | early June | ~130 days | Eskdalemuir | medium |
| Islands | lowland | late April | early November | mid May | ~190 days | Stornoway | high |
Source: Met Office location-specific long-term averages and historic station data · 1991-2020 averages · last verified 2026-07-15