One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In South Portland you can figure out when it's possible to plant gerbera by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

Since gerbera do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gerbera may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for South Portland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your gerbera if you have a surprise 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.