Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when to plant portulaca is to look at the USDA zone info for Cambridge.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Cambridge 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Cambridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cambridge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Cambridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cambridge

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 Cambridge

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