One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You will be able to estimate when to plant arctotis by referring to the USDA zone info for Portland.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Arctotis do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portland. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portland and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your arctotis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

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