When to Plant Calla Lily in Portsmouth, VA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Portsmouth can be read to determine when you can plant calla lily.


Planting Calendar for Calla Lily

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

Since calla lily are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant calla lily
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant calla lily
Probably not a good time to plant calla lily

The earliest that you can plant calla lily in Portsmouth is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calla lily and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calla lily may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your calla lily indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Portsmouth. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Portsmouth is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your calla lily if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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