When to Plant Portulaca in Memphis, TN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant portulaca in Memphis can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant portulaca
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant portulaca
Probably not a good time to plant portulaca

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Memphis 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Memphis. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Memphis is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Memphis last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Memphis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Memphis

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