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

The best time to plant cuphea in Fort Collins can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's not a good idea to plant cuphea until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Fort Collins is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cuphea and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Collins. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Collins may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Collins you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cuphea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.