One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 estimating when it's the best time to plant catharanthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Jersey Shore.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Since catharanthus do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Jersey Shore 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jersey Shore the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Jersey Shore is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Jersey Shore last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jersey Shore

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 Jersey Shore

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Jersey Shore.