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.

A common way of determining when you can plant portulaca is to use the USDA zone info for Colonial Heights.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Colonial Heights 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Colonial Heights. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Colonial Heights is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Colonial Heights you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Colonial Heights

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 Colonial Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Colonial Heights.