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.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant portulaca is to use the USDA zone info for Chelsea.

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 do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Chelsea 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 fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chelsea and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chelsea it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chelsea

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 Chelsea

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