One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In Pekin you can estimate when it's the best time to plant purslane by looking at the USDA zone info.

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.

Purslane do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Pekin 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 really do well. If you are starting your purslane indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Pekin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Pekin is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Pekin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your purslane if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pekin

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 Pekin

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