Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In South El Monte you can figure out when it's the best time to plant catharanthus by checking out 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.

Catharanthus require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in South El Monte 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in South El Monte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South El Monte may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South El Monte you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South El Monte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in South El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South El Monte.