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.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant trailing portulaca in Iowa City by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

You really shouldn't plant trailing portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Iowa 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your trailing portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Iowa City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa City is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

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