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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant portulaca is to examine the USDA zone info for La Palma.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's not a good idea to plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In La Palma the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Palma and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in La Palma you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Palma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in La Palma

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Palma.