One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You should be able to estimate when to plant periwinkles by using the USDA zone info for El Dorado.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant periwinkles until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in El Dorado 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your periwinkles indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in El Dorado. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Dorado and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in El Dorado last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your periwinkles if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.