One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

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

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

It's not a good idea to plant trailing portulaca until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In Newport the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Newport is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Newport you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your trailing portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Newport

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