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

The USDA zone info for Sparta can be reviewed to estimate when you can plant trailing portulaca.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant trailing portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Sparta is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Any later than that and 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 May 15 in Sparta. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sparta is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sparta you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your trailing portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sparta

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