One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

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

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 all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Cushing 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Cushing. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cushing is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Cushing you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cushing

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 Cushing

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