One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cicero you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant catharanthus.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Catharanthus do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Cicero 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. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Cicero. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Cicero is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cicero last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cicero

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 Cicero

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