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 best time to plant cuphea in Loves Park can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Loves Park 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. If you wait any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cuphea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Loves Park. In the coldest months of winter you can 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 Loves Park and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Loves Park you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Loves Park

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 Loves Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Loves Park.