When to Plant Alstromeria in Portland, ME

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 alstromeria in Portland can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Alstromeria

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

Alstromeria do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant alstromeria 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 alstromeria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alstromeria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your alstromeria indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Portland. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portland and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alstromeria 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.