Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 12a should be reviewed to determine when you can plant catharanthus.

Planting Calendar for Catharanthus

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

Catharanthus require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant catharanthus in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant catharanthus and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and 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

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 12a and it is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your catharanthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.