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

The first chance to plant catharanthus in Mission Viejo can 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 has passed.

Catharanthus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary 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 Mission Viejo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your catharanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Mission Viejo. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mission Viejo is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mission Viejo you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mission Viejo

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 Mission Viejo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mission Viejo.