The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 Athens should be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's not a good idea to 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 Athens 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Athens and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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