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

The USDA zone info for Harrisburg can be read to determine when to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You should not plant portulaca until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Harrisburg 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 grow to maturity. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Harrisburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Harrisburg is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Harrisburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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