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.

You will be able to determine when to plant catharanthus by reviewing the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's not a good idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Altoona 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 really do well. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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