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.

In Hermitage you can figure out when you can plant portulaca by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Hermitage 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hermitage. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hermitage and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hermitage you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hermitage

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 Hermitage

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