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.

The best time to plant cuphea in River Forest should 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 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 River Forest 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 really do well. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in River Forest. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for River Forest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in River Forest there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

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 River Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for River Forest.