One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Apache Junction you should be able to determine when 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.

Since portulaca require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Apache Junction 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Apache Junction the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Apache Junction and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Apache Junction there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Apache Junction

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 Apache Junction

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Apache Junction.