The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Orange Beach can be reviewed to figure out 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Orange Beach 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orange Beach. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Orange Beach may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Orange Beach you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Beach

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 Orange Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Beach.