One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Moscow can be used to estimate when to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Moscow 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Moscow is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Moscow it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Moscow

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Moscow

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