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.

In Glen Ellyn you can figure out when it's possible to plant trailing portulaca by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca are not cold tolerant 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 trailing portulaca in Glen Ellyn 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. Starting your trailing portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Glen Ellyn 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Glen Ellyn is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Glen Ellyn you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Glen Ellyn

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 Glen Ellyn

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Glen Ellyn.