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 Hondo you can figure out when you can plant portulaca by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Hondo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hondo the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hondo is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hondo you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hondo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Hondo

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