One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Tumwater should be used to estimate 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.

You can not plant cuphea until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Tumwater 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Tumwater the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember 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 Tumwater and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Tumwater there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cuphea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tumwater

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Tumwater

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