One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Virginia Beach should be determined 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 has passed.

Catharanthus require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Virginia Beach 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 really do well. If you are starting your catharanthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Virginia Beach. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia Beach is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia Beach you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your catharanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia Beach

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 Virginia Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Virginia Beach.