One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant portulaca is to check out the USDA zone info for Lander.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

Since portulaca do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Lander 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 fully mature. 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 when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Lander. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lander is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lander last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your portulaca if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lander

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 Lander

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