One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant portulaca is to look at the USDA zone info for Gustine.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since portulaca are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Gustine 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Gustine. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Gustine is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gustine last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gustine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gustine

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