One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant cuphea in Iowa City can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's a bad idea to plant cuphea until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Iowa City 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. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Iowa City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cuphea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

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 Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.