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.

The USDA zone info for Wilmington can be used to estimate 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant cuphea until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Wilmington 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Wilmington. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wilmington and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Wilmington it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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