When to Plant Corn in Fort Smith, AR

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant corn in Fort Smith can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant corn until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant corn
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant corn
Probably not a good time to plant corn

The earliest that you can plant corn in Fort Smith is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your corn indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Smith. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Smith is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Smith last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your corn if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.