One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant lupine is to examine the USDA zone info for Downey.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Since lupine do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant lupine and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Downey. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downey and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Downey last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Downey

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