Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant cuphea is to refer to the USDA zone info for Montebello.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Since cuphea do not do well in cold weather it is necessary 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 Montebello 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. Any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your cuphea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Montebello. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Montebello and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Montebello there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Montebello

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 Montebello

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