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

The USDA zone info for Tuskegee can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant catharanthus.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Since catharanthus are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Tuskegee 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tuskegee. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Tuskegee and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Tuskegee you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tuskegee

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 Tuskegee

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