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.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant cuphea in Fairfax by checking out 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 require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Fairfax 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. Any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Fairfax. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairfax is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairfax you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfax

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairfax

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