One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Belding you will be able to estimate when to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Belding 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Belding. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Belding is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Belding it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Belding

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Belding

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