The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Berkeley should be estimated 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.

You can not plant catharanthus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Berkeley 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Berkeley. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Berkeley is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Berkeley it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

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 Berkeley

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