One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for West Salem you should be able to determine 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 has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in West Salem is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in West Salem. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for West Salem may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Salem there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your cuphea if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in West Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Salem.