When to Plant Catharanthus in Newport, RI

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

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Newport can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

Frost tolerance for catharanthus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant catharanthus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant catharanthus
Probably not a good time to plant catharanthus

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Newport 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 really do well. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Newport. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Newport may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Newport you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Newport

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