One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ripley you can figure out when it's the best time to plant trailing portulaca by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Trailing Portulaca are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Ripley 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your trailing portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ripley. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ripley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ripley it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your trailing portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripley

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 Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 Ripley

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