One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Bismarck can be looked at 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Since cuphea are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Bismarck is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 fully mature. If you are starting your cuphea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bismarck the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bismarck may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bismarck last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bismarck

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Bismarck

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