One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Middletown it's a good idea to estimate when to plant periwinkles.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

Frost tolerance for periwinkles:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Middletown 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your periwinkles indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Middletown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Middletown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Middletown there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your periwinkles if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Middletown

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 Middletown

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