The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant trailing portulaca is to consult the USDA zone info for Forest Park.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Forest Park 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your trailing portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Forest Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Forest Park is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Forest Park you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Forest Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest Park.