One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for South Portland should be reviewed to figure out when it's possible to plant sweet williams.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Williams

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

Sweet Williams are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant sweet williams 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 sweet williams and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet williams may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sweet williams indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember 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 last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your sweet williams in the event of 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.