One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 periwinkles in Valparaiso should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant periwinkles until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Valparaiso is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your periwinkles indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Valparaiso. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valparaiso is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Valparaiso you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your periwinkles in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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