Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when to plant portulaca is to look at the USDA zone info for Whiting.

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 necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Whiting 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Whiting the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Whiting

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 Whiting

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