One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Sweetwater can be reffered to in order to figure out when you can plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

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

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Sweetwater 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sweetwater the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sweetwater and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sweetwater last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sweetwater

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 Sweetwater

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