One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Cherokee should be reviewed to estimate when to plant lupine.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Lupine do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Cherokee 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. If you wait any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cherokee. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cherokee may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cherokee you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lupine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cherokee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cherokee

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