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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant catharanthus is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lincoln Park.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Since catharanthus require warm weather 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 Lincoln Park 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. If you are starting your catharanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lincoln Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lincoln Park is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lincoln Park last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lincoln Park

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 Lincoln Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lincoln Park.