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.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant cuphea in Mission Viejo by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Mission Viejo is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 grow to maturity. 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 Mission Viejo the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mission Viejo may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mission Viejo last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission Viejo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Mission Viejo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mission Viejo.