Gardening in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
This metro spans USDA zones 7a to 9a, so there is no single zone for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 61% of its ZIP codes are zone 8b; the rest are not.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA covers 5 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the metro one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — which is fine for the 61% in zone 8b and wrong for the other 39%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8b | 76 | 61% | |
| 9a | 37 | 30% | |
| 8a | 8 | 6% | |
| 7b | 2 | 2% | |
| 7a | 1 | 1% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the metro's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Those are the earliest and latest medians among the 35 stations serving this metro — not an average, and not one station standing in for the rest. Half of years freeze later than a station's own median.
The spread is the point. Even in a metro that is one hardiness zone throughout, its stations disagree about the last spring freeze. Hardiness zone and frost date measure different things — a zone is the average annual coldest night, a freeze date is when the season turns — and a place can be uniform in one and varied in the other. Use the tools below with your own ZIP rather than the ends of this range.
Your growing season
NOAA publishes a growing-season length for each station, and across the 35 stations serving Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA it runs 134–303 days . That figure is published, not computed from the two freeze dates — subtracting one from the other gives the wrong answer wherever a season crosses New Year. Mean summer high (June–August) runs 66–81 °F , below the 90 °F point where cool-season crops reliably bolt.
When to start seeds in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Every spring job for 63 crop dates, counted from this metro's own last spring freeze. Each is a range across all 35 stations — the earliest and latest that job falls anywhere in the metro — because no one station speaks for the whole area.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bok Choy | Start indoors | January 7 – April 22 | 5 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Start indoors | January 7 – April 22 | 5 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Start indoors | January 7 – April 22 | 5 weeks before |
| Arugula | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Beets | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Collards | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Kale | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Mustard Greens | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Okra | Start indoors | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Peas | Direct sow | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Radishes | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Spinach | Direct sow | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Sweet Potato | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Tomatoes | Start indoors | January 14 – December 31 | 6 weeks before |
| Turnips | Direct sow | January 14 – April 29 | 4 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Start indoors | January 16 – December 31 | 8 weeks before |
| Peppers | Start indoors | January 16 – December 31 | 8 weeks before |
| Cabbage | Set out | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Carrots | Direct sow | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Direct sow | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Collards | Set out | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Cucumbers | Start indoors | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Green Onions | Set out | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Direct sow | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Kale | Set out | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Direct sow | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Kohlrabi | Set out | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Pumpkins | Start indoors | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Summer Squash | Start indoors | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Winter Squash | Start indoors | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Zucchini | Start indoors | January 21 – May 6 | 3 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Direct sow | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Bok Choy | Set out | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Broccoli | Set out | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Cilantro | Direct sow | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Leaf Lettuce | Set out | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Direct sow | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Swiss Chard | Set out | January 28 – May 13 | 2 weeks before |
| Dill | Direct sow | February 4 – May 20 | 1 week before |
| Bush Beans | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Pumpkins | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Summer Squash | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Sweet Corn | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Tomatoes | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Winter Squash | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Direct sow | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Zucchini | Set out | February 18 – June 3 | 1 week after |
| Cucumbers | Direct sow | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Direct sow | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
| Okra | Set out | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
| Peppers | Set out | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
| Southern Peas | Direct sow | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
| Sweet Potato | Set out | February 25 – June 10 | 2 weeks after |
The week offsets are conventional extension guidance and vary by variety; the freeze dates they are counted from are measured. For a single date rather than a range, run when do I start my seeds? with your own ZIP code.
What survives the winter changes across Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Of 74 perennial fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables and herbs, 58 come through the winter in zone 7a and only 46 in zone 9a. That is a different garden at each end of the same metro.
| Zone | ZIPs | Survive | Fail for being too warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7a | 1 | 58 of 74 | 1 |
| 7b | 2 | 56 of 74 | 3 |
| 8a | 8 | 57 of 74 | 8 |
| 8b | 76 | 54 of 74 | 11 |
| 9a | 37 | 46 of 74 | 25 |
The last column is the counterintuitive one, and it is why the totals do not simply rise as the winters get milder. Most temperate fruit needs a documented number of hours below about 45 °F to break dormancy and set a crop, so an apple fails in a winter that is too warm; currants and rhubarb cook in the summer heat that comes with it. See the full list with reasons.
The 35 stations behind these numbers
Every figure above comes from these, and each is named so you can check it. Distances vary by ZIP code, so the tools report yours rather than this page guessing.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora State AP, OR | USW00094281 | March 16 | November 14 | 242 days |
| Battle Ground, WA | USC00450482 | April 26 | October 16 | 174 days |
| Beaverton 2 Ssw, OR | USC00350595 | April 1 | November 6 | 222 days |
| Bonneville Dam, OR | USC00350897 | March 14 | November 27 | 257 days |
| Carson Fish Hatchery, WA | USC00451160 | May 2 | October 9 | 161 days |
| Cascade Locks, OR | USC00351407 | March 24 | November 20 | 242 days |
| Clatskanie, OR | USC00351643 | April 24 | October 24 | 184 days |
| Cougar 6 E, WA | USC00451760 | April 1 | November 18 | 227 days |
| Dallas 2 NE, OR | USC00352112 | April 16 | November 1 | 199 days |
| Estacada 2 SE, OR | USC00352693 | March 27 | November 14 | 230 days |
| Forest Grove, OR | USC00352997 | April 16 | October 26 | 192 days |
| Government Camp, OR | USC00353402 | May 27 | October 9 | 134 days |
| Headworks Portland Wtr B, OR | USC00353770 | March 27 | November 18 | 239 days |
| Hood Rvr Exp Stn, OR | USC00354003 | April 20 | October 13 | 177 days |
| Laurel Mtn, OR | USC00354776 | May 20 | October 23 | 157 days |
| Longview, WA | USC00454769 | April 8 | November 5 | 210 days |
| Mc Minnville, OR | USC00355384 | April 5 | November 7 | 216 days |
| Mcminnville Muni AP, OR | USW00094273 | April 15 | October 26 | 195 days |
| Molalla 7Ne, OR | USC00355681 | March 16 | November 19 | 247 days |
| N Willamette Exp Stn, OR | USC00356151 | March 18 | November 13 | 243 days |
| Nature Park-Beaverton, OR | USC00355945 | February 11 | December 5 | 303 days |
| Oregon City, OR | USC00356334 | March 18 | November 18 | 244 days |
| Portland INTL AP, OR | USW00024229 | March 13 | November 19 | 247 days |
| Portland Kgw-Tv, OR | USC00356749 | February 25 | December 1 | 280 days |
| Portland Troutdale AP, OR | USW00024242 | March 16 | November 20 | 250 days |
| Portland Wfo, OR | USC00356750 | March 13 | November 22 | 251 days |
| Portland-Hillsboro AP, OR | USW00094261 | April 16 | October 23 | 191 days |
| Rex 1 S, OR | USC00357127 | March 21 | November 22 | 241 days |
| Saint Helens Rfd, OR | USC00357466 | April 18 | November 7 | 201 days |
| Scappoose Ind AP, OR | USW00004201 | April 10 | November 2 | 209 days |
| Skamania Fish Hatchery, WA | USC00457696 | April 29 | October 22 | 177 days |
| Troutdale, OR | USC00358634 | March 26 | November 17 | 237 days |
| Vancouver 4 Nne, WA | USC00458773 | April 26 | October 18 | 177 days |
| Vancouver Pearson AP, WA | USW00094298 | March 29 | November 9 | 223 days |
| Vernonia #2, OR | USC00358884 | May 8 | October 1 | 144 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Work out your own dates
Each of these takes a ZIP code and answers for that ZIP alone, citing the station it used and how far away it is. There is a ZIP box in the header of every page.
- What survives my winter?
Runs on the hardiness zone, so it answers for all of Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA at once — zone across 74 perennial fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs.
- When do I start my seeds?
Dates every spring job from your own last freeze — sow indoors, set out, direct sow.
- When do I sow the next round?
How often each crop is worth re-sowing, and when the next sowing is due.
- What can I still plant?
Counts the growing days left before your first fall freeze, crop by crop.
Where these numbers come from
The hardiness zone is the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. The freeze dates are NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals, read from every station whose normals cover a ZIP code in this metro. Nothing here is estimated, and no station stands in for another.
This page names no single station on purpose. Picking one to represent a metro sounds reasonable and is not: the station serving the most ZIP codes is an artifact of where ZIP centroids happen to fall, and it selects a lock on the Monongahela for Pittsburgh and a far southern suburb for Chicago. A range across every station is true; a single cited date for a whole metro is not.