When to Plant Portulaca in Lake Wales, FL

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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant portulaca in Lake Wales by checking out 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.

You really shouldn't plant portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant portulaca
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant portulaca
Probably not a good time to plant portulaca

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Lake Wales 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lake Wales. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Wales may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Wales you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Wales

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Lake Wales

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