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

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant catharanthus by checking out the USDA zone info for Hemet.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

Frost tolerance for catharanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Catharanthus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important 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 Hemet 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 really do well. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Hemet. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hemet is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hemet you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hemet

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hemet

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