One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 estimating when to plant portulaca is to examine the USDA zone info for Portage.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant portulaca until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Portage 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. Any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your portulaca indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portage. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portage may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portage last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your portulaca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portage

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