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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Vail it's possible to figure out when you can plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Since cuphea do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Vail is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cuphea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Vail. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Vail may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Vail there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Vail

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Vail

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