Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Merced 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.

Cuphea require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Merced 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Merced. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Merced is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Merced it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

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 Merced

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