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

In Litchfield you can determine when it's possible to plant portulaca by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You should not plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Litchfield. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Litchfield may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Litchfield it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Litchfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Litchfield

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