One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant primula in Portland should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since primula are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Portland. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Portland is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your primula 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.