One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Carthage you can figure out when it's the best time to plant catharanthus by checking out 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.

Since catharanthus require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Carthage 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 really do well. If you are starting your catharanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Carthage. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carthage is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Carthage you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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