The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when to plant catharanthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Northfield.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Catharanthus require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Northfield 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. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Northfield. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Northfield and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Northfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Northfield

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