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

In Grand Rapids you can estimate when you can plant portulaca by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's not a good idea to 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 Grand Rapids is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Grand Rapids. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Grand Rapids there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Rapids.