The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant trailing portulaca in Portsmouth can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Portsmouth 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your trailing portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portsmouth. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portsmouth and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth

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