One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 figure out when it's possible to plant schizanthus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since schizanthus require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Portland is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your schizanthus 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. Since half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your schizanthus if you have 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.