Portland, OR 97212 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Portland, OR?
Around 03/13 is the usual last spring frost, about 197 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/19, about 247 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Portland, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Portland before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/22 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Portland compares
About 247 days separate Portland's last and first frost, putting it 7,760 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within OR, it ranks 88 of 463.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Portland can differ from the 97212 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Portland's frost date answer different questions.