One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant purslane is to examine the USDA zone info for Sweetwater.

Planting Calendar for Purslane

Frost tolerance for purslane:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since purslane are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant purslane in Sweetwater 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 purslane and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your purslane may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your purslane indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind 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. Half of the time in Sweetwater there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your purslane in the event of 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.