The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 San Jose.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

Frost tolerance for trailing portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Trailing Portulaca do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in San Jose 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in San Jose. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Jose and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in San Jose you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.