One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when you can plant portulaca is to examine the USDA zone info for Los Banos.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Los Banos 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Los Banos. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Los Banos is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Los Banos you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Banos

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 Los Banos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Banos.