One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can figure out when you can plant catharanthus in Calimesa by referring to 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.

Since catharanthus are not cold tolerant it is necessary 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 Calimesa 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. If you wait any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Calimesa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Calimesa is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Calimesa it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Calimesa

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 Calimesa

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