One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Lowell can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Lowell 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. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lowell. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lowell is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lowell you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lowell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Lowell

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