One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant portulaca is to refer to the USDA zone info for Hurricane.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Portulaca require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Hurricane 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. If you wait 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hurricane. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hurricane is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hurricane you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hurricane

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Hurricane

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