One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Portsmouth you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant candytuft.

Planting Calendar for Candytuft

Frost tolerance for candytuft:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since candytuft do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant candytuft in Portsmouth is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant candytuft and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your candytuft may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your candytuft indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Portsmouth. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portsmouth is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Portsmouth last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your candytuft in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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