One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Dickinson you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant portulaca by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Dickinson is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Dickinson. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dickinson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Dickinson you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dickinson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dickinson

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