One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Carlisle it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

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

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Carlisle 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 really do well. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Carlisle. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carlisle is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Carlisle you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carlisle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Carlisle

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