The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant portulaca is to examine the USDA zone info for Sycamore.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Sycamore 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

In Sycamore 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Sycamore may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sycamore there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sycamore

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 Sycamore

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