One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 Lake Mills can be looked at to estimate when to plant cuphea.

Planting Calendar for Cuphea

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

It's not a good idea to plant cuphea until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Lake Mills 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. If you are starting your cuphea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Mills. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Mills may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Mills you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cuphea in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Mills

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Mills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Mills.