One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Menasha can be used to estimate when it's possible to plant catharanthus.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

Frost tolerance for catharanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Catharanthus are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Menasha 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Menasha. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Menasha and it is different every year. Half of the time in Menasha last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your catharanthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Menasha

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Menasha

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