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 way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant catharanthus is to consult the USDA zone info for South Houston.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant catharanthus until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in South Houston 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your catharanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In South Houston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Houston and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in South Houston there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Houston

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 South Houston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Houston.