One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Taos it's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's a bad idea to plant cuphea until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Taos 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. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Taos. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Taos and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Taos you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Taos

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 Taos

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