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.

The best time to plant nicotiana in Portland should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant nicotiana until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your nicotiana indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit 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 USDA zone info for Portland is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your nicotiana 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.