One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Prior Lake you can estimate when you can plant catharanthus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Since catharanthus do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Prior Lake 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 catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your catharanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Prior Lake. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Prior Lake may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Prior Lake you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Prior Lake

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 Prior Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Prior Lake.