Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant cuphea is to examine the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Cuphea are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Mount Vernon 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 fully mature. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Mount Vernon. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mount Vernon may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mount Vernon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.