The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant lupine in Spencer should be determined by reviewing 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.

Since lupine are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Spencer 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 really do well. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Spencer. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Spencer and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Spencer it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lupine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Spencer

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 Spencer

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