Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant painted tongues in South Portland by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since painted tongues require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

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.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Portland and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in South Portland you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues 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.