One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant portulaca is to refer to the USDA zone info for Key West.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

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

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Key West is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Key West it never frosts. It might get as low as 45°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Key West is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Key West you do not have to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Key West

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Key West

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Key West.