The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant trailing portulaca is to examine the USDA zone info for El Cajon.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

Frost tolerance for trailing portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since trailing portulaca are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In El Cajon the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Cajon is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in El Cajon you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cajon

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 El Cajon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cajon.