One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Portland you can estimate when it's the best time to plant bleeding hearts by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

Frost tolerance for bleeding hearts:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Bleeding Hearts are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bleeding hearts indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Portland. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bleeding hearts in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

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