One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Xenia it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time 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 not a good idea to plant periwinkles until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Xenia 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 fully mature. 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 Xenia. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Xenia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Xenia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your periwinkles if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Xenia

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 Xenia

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