One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant cuphea in Magnolia should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Magnolia 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Magnolia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Magnolia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Magnolia last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Magnolia

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 Magnolia

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