One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Bloomingdale you will be able to figure out when you can plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Bloomingdale 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. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Bloomingdale. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Bloomingdale is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bloomingdale you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomingdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bloomingdale

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