One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant catharanthus in Wheaton should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

Frost tolerance for catharanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Catharanthus require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Wheaton 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 catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wheaton. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Wheaton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Wheaton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Wheaton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Wheaton

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