When to Plant Oregano 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.

The USDA zone info for South Portland should be read to determine when it's the best time to plant oregano.


Planting Calendar for Oregano

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

Oregano are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant oregano 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 oregano and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your oregano may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oregano indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in South Portland. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Portland and it changes 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 prepared to protect your oregano 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.