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

A common way of determining when it's the best time to plant purslane is to refer to the USDA zone info for Hickory.

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.

You can plant purslane slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Hickory 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. Any later than that and your purslane may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your purslane indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hickory the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hickory and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hickory there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your purslane if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hickory

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