One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant portulaca is to look at the USDA zone info for Bessemer City.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since portulaca do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Bessemer City 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 portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bessemer City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bessemer City and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bessemer City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bessemer City.