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.

In Washougal you can figure out when it's possible to plant trailing portulaca by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

Since trailing portulaca require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Washougal. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Washougal and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Washougal last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washougal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Washougal

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