When to Plant Catharanthus in Norwalk, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Norwalk it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus.


Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's a bad idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant catharanthus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant catharanthus
Probably not a good time to plant catharanthus

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Norwalk 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 catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Norwalk. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Norwalk is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Norwalk there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norwalk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Norwalk

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