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.

In Fort Meade you can determine when it's the best time to plant portulaca by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Fort Meade 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 really do well. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Meade the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Meade and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Meade last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Meade

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 Fort Meade

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Meade.