The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Niles you can figure out when you can plant trailing portulaca by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Trailing Portulaca require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Niles 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your trailing portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Niles. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Niles is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Niles you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your trailing portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

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 Niles

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