The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Atwater you should be able to estimate when to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant cuphea until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Atwater is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cuphea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

In Atwater the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Atwater may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Atwater there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atwater

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Atwater

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