One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Santa Monica it's possible to estimate when to plant purslane.

Planting Calendar for Purslane

Frost tolerance for purslane:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Purslane do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Santa Monica 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 purslane and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your purslane may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your purslane indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Monica. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your purslane if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

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 Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.