One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant portulaca is to consult the USDA zone info for Rawlins.

Planting Calendar for Portulaca

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

You can not plant portulaca until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant portulaca in Rawlins 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 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

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Rawlins. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rawlins is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rawlins there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rawlins

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 Rawlins

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