Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant catharanthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Jacksonville.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

Frost tolerance for catharanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since catharanthus are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Jacksonville 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jacksonville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jacksonville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Jacksonville last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your catharanthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

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 Jacksonville

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