The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

You should be able to determine when it's possible to plant portulaca by using the USDA zone info for Bonne Terre.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

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 Bonne Terre 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bonne Terre. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bonne Terre is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bonne Terre you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bonne Terre

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 Bonne Terre

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bonne Terre.