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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus in Dayton 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 when the weather gets warmer.

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

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Dayton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Dayton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dayton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dayton last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Dayton

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