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 USDA zone info for Mason should be used to estimate when it's possible to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's a bad idea to plant cuphea until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Mason 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 fully mature. If you are starting your cuphea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mason the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mason and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mason you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mason

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 Mason

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