One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Eaton you can figure out when to plant trailing portulaca by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Eaton 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. Any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your trailing portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Eaton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Eaton is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Eaton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your trailing portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Eaton

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 Eaton

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