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

In Portales you can determine when it's possible to plant four o' clock by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant four o' clock until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Portales 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your four o' clock may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your four o' clock indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Portales the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portales may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portales there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your four o' clock in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portales

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portales

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