One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Hidalgo you can estimate when you can 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.

You can not plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Hidalgo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your 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 February 15 in Hidalgo. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hidalgo and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hidalgo last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hidalgo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Hidalgo

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