When to Plant Purslane in Arcata, CA

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

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant purslane by checking out the USDA zone info for Arcata.


Planting Calendar for Purslane

Frost tolerance for purslane: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Purslane do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant purslane
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant purslane
Probably not a good time to plant purslane

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Arcata is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purslane and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purslane may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your purslane indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Arcata the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Arcata is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Arcata there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your purslane if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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