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.

You will be able to estimate when to plant portulaca by referring to the USDA zone info for Cookeville.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Cookeville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cookeville is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cookeville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cookeville

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 Cookeville

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