One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Northport you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant portulaca by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Northport 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. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Northport. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Northport may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Northport last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Northport

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 Northport

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