Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Fairfax you should be able to figure out when you can plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Fairfax is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fairfax 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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fairfax may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fairfax it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfax

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 Fairfax

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