Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 Southern Pines should be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Since cuphea are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Southern Pines 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 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 March 15 in Southern Pines. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Southern Pines is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Southern Pines last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Southern Pines

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Southern Pines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Southern Pines.