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.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant cuphea by referring to the USDA zone info for Hermitage.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Cuphea require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Hermitage 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. Starting your cuphea indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hermitage. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hermitage is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hermitage you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hermitage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Hermitage

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