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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Charlestown you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant purslane.

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.

Since purslane do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Charlestown 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your purslane indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charlestown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charlestown is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Charlestown you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your purslane if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlestown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlestown

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