One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Payson can be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Portulaca require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Payson 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. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Payson 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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Payson may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Payson it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Payson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Payson

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