One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Zone 9b you can determine when it's possible to plant cuphea by using 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 are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cuphea in Zone 9b is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cuphea and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cuphea may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cuphea indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Zone 9b. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9b may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9b you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your cuphea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9b.