One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant portulaca by reviewing the USDA zone info for El Dorado.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in El Dorado 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in El Dorado. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Dorado and it is different every year. Half of the time in El Dorado there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

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 El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.