One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant cuphea by referring to the USDA zone info for Ione.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant cuphea until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Ione 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Ione. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ione and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ione you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ione

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 Ione

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