Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant portulaca in Vernal should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant portulaca until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Vernal 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 fully mature. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Vernal. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Vernal is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Vernal it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vernal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Vernal

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