The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Benson you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Catharanthus are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Benson 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. If you wait any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Benson the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Benson is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Benson it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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