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When to Plant Fountain Grass in Portland, ME

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 to plant fountain grass by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

Frost tolerance for fountain grass: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Fountain Grass do well in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

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

The last month that you can plant fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fountain grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portland is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portland last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your fountain grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.