One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus is to refer to the USDA zone info for Binghamton.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's not a good idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Binghamton 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Binghamton. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Binghamton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Binghamton there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Binghamton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Binghamton

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