One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant trailing portulaca by looking at the USDA zone info for Zone 5a.

Planting Calendar for Trailing Portulaca

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

You should not plant trailing portulaca until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant trailing portulaca in Zone 5a 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 trailing portulaca and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your trailing portulaca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your trailing portulaca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 5a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your trailing portulaca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

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 Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.