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

By using the USDA zone info for San Diego you should be able to estimate when to plant trailing portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

You can not plant trailing portulaca until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in San Diego 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your trailing portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in San Diego. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Diego may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in San Diego last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Diego

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 San Diego

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Diego.