Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Hammond you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant cuphea by looking at 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 do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Hammond 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 little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Hammond. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Hammond is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Hammond it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hammond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Hammond

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