One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Cairo it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Since purslane are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Cairo 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 purslane and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your purslane may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your purslane indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Cairo. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cairo is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Cairo you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your purslane if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cairo

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 Cairo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cairo.