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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant cuphea by referring to the USDA zone info for Santee.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

You can not plant cuphea until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Santee 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 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 January 31 in Santee. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santee and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santee you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Santee

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