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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Gulf Shores is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Gulf Shores. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Gulf Shores it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.