One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 best time to plant catharanthus in Opelika can be figured out by reviewing 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 require warm weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Opelika 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your catharanthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Opelika. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Opelika and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Opelika it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Opelika

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 Opelika

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