One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 Valley Center you can figure out when it's possible to plant portulaca by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You can not plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Valley Center 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Valley Center. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valley Center may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valley Center 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 Valley Center

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 Valley Center

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Valley Center.