One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant portulaca is to refer to the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You should not plant portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Novato 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. Any later than that and 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Novato. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Novato 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 Novato it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

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 Novato

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