Don’t Plant Your Flowers Yet, Oklahoma Isn’t Done Freezing

Since spring is, well, springing across the state of Oklahoma, it's as good of a time to talk about your flower beds and the weather.

With the official start of spring less than a week away, people tend to start getting a little antsy to get outside and get their homes looking good for the year--spray the weeds, fluff the mulch, plant new flowers, etc... but now is not the time to hop into your flower garden.

Historically, the last frosts generally happen in two different months across the Sooner State depending on how north/south you live. Okies down south usually get their last freeze in March, but most of Oklahoma get theirs in April... but not always.

In Lawton, our last frost data varies. We're right on the line between a March and April last frost. It happened in the second week of April in 2022. It was late April in 2020 and 2021, so the meteorological "averages" don't quite fit our recent years of weather.

Heck, parts of Oklahoma were still taking hard freezes, mid-20s, in the first week of May last year. I know the rolling joke here is "Don't like the weather, wait five minutes..." but when it comes to doing your flower beds once or twice, you'd ideally get it one and done.

When will the last frost happen?

I'm not a meteorologist but they can't seem to predict the future either, so it's probably best to er on the side of caution. By all means, clean out the flower beds and get them ready for the season, but I'd hold off on planting anything until May across the entire state, regardless of where you live.

Also, resist the urge to pop into the home store for those great bargains on half-price flowers. They'll look like a good deal but those are normally the plants that get frost-damaged and they just want them gone. They still come with a warranty, but do you want to work twice as hard?