One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 determining when it's a good idea to plant trailing portulaca is to use the USDA zone info for Los Gatos.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant trailing portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Los Gatos 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 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your trailing portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Los Gatos 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 Los Gatos is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Los Gatos last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Gatos

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 Los Gatos

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