One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant portulaca is to consult the USDA zone info for Dana Point.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Portulaca do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Dana Point 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 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 really do well. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Dana Point. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Dana Point is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dana Point there is a last frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dana Point

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Dana Point

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dana Point.