One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant portulaca by checking out the USDA zone info for Syracuse.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You should not plant portulaca until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Syracuse 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. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Syracuse 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 Syracuse it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Syracuse

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Syracuse

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