One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Portland it's possible to estimate when to plant erysimum.

Planting Calendar for Erysimum

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

You can plant erysimum just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant erysimum in 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 erysimum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your erysimum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your erysimum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in 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 Portland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your erysimum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

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