One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Sanford you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

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 Sanford 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sanford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sanford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sanford there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cuphea if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sanford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Sanford

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