One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus in Fountain Valley 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.

It's probably a bad idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Fountain Valley 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 fully mature. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fountain Valley the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fountain Valley and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Fountain Valley it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fountain Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Fountain Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fountain Valley.