One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant portulaca in Bourbonnais can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Bourbonnais 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 grow to maturity. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bourbonnais the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bourbonnais and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bourbonnais you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bourbonnais

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 Bourbonnais

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