When to Plant Chamomile in South Portland, ME

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for South Portland can be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant chamomile.


Planting Calendar for Chamomile

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

Chamomile are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant chamomile in South 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 chamomile and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chamomile may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chamomile 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 South Portland. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Portland and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your chamomile if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South 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 South Portland

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