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.

In Big Stone Gap you can estimate when it's the best time to plant cuphea by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

Cuphea do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Big Stone Gap 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Big Stone Gap the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Stone Gap there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Stone Gap

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Stone Gap

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Stone Gap.