One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Salinas you can figure out when to plant periwinkles by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

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

Periwinkles do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Salinas 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your periwinkles indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Salinas. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salinas and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salinas you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your periwinkles in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

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 Salinas

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