One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Stafford you can determine when it's possible to plant periwinkles by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

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

Since periwinkles do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Stafford 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your periwinkles indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Stafford. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Stafford is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Stafford you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your periwinkles if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

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 Stafford

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