One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant cuphea is to consult the USDA zone info for Seattle.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

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

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Seattle 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Seattle is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Seattle last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Seattle

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 Seattle

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