One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Portland you can figure out when you can plant bachelor buttons by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

Frost tolerance for bachelor buttons:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Bachelor Buttons can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bachelor buttons in Portland is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bachelor buttons and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bachelor buttons may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bachelor buttons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Portland is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bachelor buttons in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portland.