One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 earliest that you can plant portulaca in Buffalo should be estimated by referring to 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.

Portulaca require warm weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Buffalo 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. If you wait any later than that and your portulaca may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Buffalo. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Buffalo and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Buffalo last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo

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 Buffalo

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