One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Piedmont can be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

You really shouldn't plant cuphea until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Piedmont 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. If you wait any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cuphea 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 April 15 in Piedmont. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Piedmont and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Piedmont there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Piedmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Piedmont

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