Purslane · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
When to plant purslane in Philadelphia
Main outdoor window
28 Apr - 26 May
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
14 April
In Philadelphia, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jun - 30 Sep
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Philadelphia
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Sow direct
28 Apr - 26 May
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
1 Jun - 30 Sep
Purslane through the year
Against the frost risk in Philadelphia
Why these dates
Sow onto warm soil two weeks after the last frost, barely covered. It germinates badly in cool ground and then grows very fast once summer arrives.
Killed outright at 0C. This is a high-summer crop with no cold tolerance at all.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Purslane are timed for direct sowing 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Philadelphia.
The median frost-free season here is 202 days, against 40 to 55 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Philadelphia
Other vegetables to time
Growing purslane in Philadelphia
When should I plant purslane in Philadelphia?
Aim for 28 Apr - 26 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 7 May - 4 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will purslane be ready to harvest in Philadelphia?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jun - 30 Sep, based on 40 to 55 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will purslane tolerate?
Killed outright at 0C. This is a high-summer crop with no cold tolerance at all.