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.

The USDA zone info for Delaware should be reviewed to estimate when you can plant trailing portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Delaware 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your trailing portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Delaware and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Delaware there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Delaware

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 Delaware

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