One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Monroe should be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca do not do well in cold weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Monroe 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. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Monroe the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Monroe is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Monroe there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monroe

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 Monroe

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