One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 Joliet can be estimated by checking out 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.

Cuphea require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Joliet 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cuphea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Joliet. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Joliet may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Joliet you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Joliet

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 Joliet

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