The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant cuphea is to check out the USDA zone info for Port Royal.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Port Royal 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Port Royal the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Port Royal and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Port Royal you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Royal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Royal

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Royal.