One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Lake City you can determine when to plant portulaca by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Lake City is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Lake City. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake City and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake City last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake City.