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.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant purslane is to use the USDA zone info for Howell.

Planting Calendar for Purslane

Frost tolerance for purslane:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Purslane do ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Howell is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purslane and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purslane may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your purslane indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Howell. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Howell is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Howell it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your purslane in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Howell

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 Howell

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