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

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant purslane is to refer to the USDA zone info for Missoula.

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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Missoula 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. If you wait any later than that and your purslane may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your purslane indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Missoula the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Missoula and it is different every year. Half of the time in Missoula you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your purslane if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Missoula

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 Missoula

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