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.

The USDA zone info for Fairfield should be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Cuphea do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Fairfield 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 cuphea and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cuphea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Fairfield. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairfield is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fairfield last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfield

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 Fairfield

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