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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant catharanthus by using the USDA zone info for Defiance.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's a bad idea to plant catharanthus until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Defiance 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. 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 April 15 in Defiance. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Defiance and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Defiance you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your catharanthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Defiance

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Defiance

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