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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant lupine by using the USDA zone info for Loveland.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Since lupine are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Loveland 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lupine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Loveland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Loveland is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Loveland last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Loveland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Loveland

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