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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Portland you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant gaillardia.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

Gaillardia can survive in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Portland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your gaillardia in the event of a 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.