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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Pekin you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant periwinkles.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

Frost tolerance for periwinkles:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since periwinkles are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Pekin 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your periwinkles may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your periwinkles indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Pekin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Pekin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Pekin it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your periwinkles if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pekin

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 Pekin

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