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 making a decision about when it's possible to plant catharanthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Presidio.

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 it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Presidio is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your catharanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your catharanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Presidio. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Presidio is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Presidio it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Presidio

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Presidio

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