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

A way of determining when you can plant portulaca is to refer to the USDA zone info for Hellertown.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Hellertown 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

In Hellertown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hellertown is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hellertown last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hellertown

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 Hellertown

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