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

In Manistee you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Manistee 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Manistee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Manistee is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Manistee you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manistee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Manistee

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