One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Balch Springs you can determine when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Since catharanthus require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Balch Springs 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. Any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Balch Springs. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Balch Springs may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Balch Springs it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Balch Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Balch Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Balch Springs.