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

One way of figuring out when you can plant caladium is to examine the USDA zone info for Portsmouth.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant caladium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Portsmouth 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portsmouth. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portsmouth may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portsmouth.