One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Chowchilla it's a good idea to determine 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.

Since cuphea do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Chowchilla 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cuphea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Chowchilla. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chowchilla is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chowchilla it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chowchilla

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 Chowchilla

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