One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Belvidere should be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Since cuphea require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Belvidere 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Belvidere the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Belvidere and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Belvidere last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Belvidere

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 Belvidere

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