Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Benson can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

Frost tolerance for lupine:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Lupine tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Benson is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lupine and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Benson. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Benson is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Benson you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

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 Benson

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