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

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant catharanthus by looking at the USDA zone info for El Cerrito.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Catharanthus do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in El Cerrito is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 grow to maturity. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in El Cerrito. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Cerrito and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in El Cerrito there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cerrito

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cerrito

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cerrito.