One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first opportunity to plant catharanthus in Manteca should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 means 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 Manteca 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your catharanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Manteca. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Manteca is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Manteca you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manteca

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 Manteca

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