Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Portland you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant ruby grass.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

You can plant ruby grass just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ruby grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Portland is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your ruby grass if you have 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.