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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant portulaca is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alabaster.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Alabaster 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. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Alabaster. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alabaster is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alabaster you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alabaster

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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 Alabaster

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