One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant purslane by using the USDA zone info for East Alton.

Planting Calendar for Purslane

Frost tolerance for purslane:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant purslane a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in East Alton is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purslane and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purslane may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your purslane indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Alton is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Alton you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your purslane if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East Alton

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 East Alton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Alton.