Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In West Salem you can estimate when it's the best time to plant portulaca by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

Frost tolerance for portulaca:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since portulaca are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in West Salem 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 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. If you are starting your portulaca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in West Salem. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for West Salem is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in West Salem there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Salem

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 West Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Salem.