One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Auburn you can figure out when it's the best time to 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.

Catharanthus do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Auburn is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Auburn. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Auburn is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Auburn it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your catharanthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Auburn

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Auburn

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