When to Plant Geranium in South Portland, ME

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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 to plant geranium.


Planting Calendar for Geranium

Frost tolerance for geranium: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant geranium until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant geranium in South 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your geranium may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your geranium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for South Portland is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your geranium 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.