When to Plant Heuchera in Portland, ME

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant heuchera is to use the USDA zone info for Portland.


Planting Calendar for Heuchera

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

Heuchera are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant heuchera 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 heuchera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heuchera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your heuchera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portland. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portland and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your heuchera 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.