The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for South Portland it's possible to determine when you can plant gazania.

Planting Calendar for Gazania

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

Gazania tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gazania in South 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 gazania and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gazania may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gazania indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for South Portland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gazania in the event of a late frost.

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.