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

The USDA zone info for Newark can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since 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 portulaca in Newark 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Newark is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Newark it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your portulaca in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newark

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 Newark

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