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

In Lake Forest you can figure out when to plant lupine 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.

Lupine are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Lake Forest 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 fully mature. 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 Lake Forest. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Forest and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Lake Forest there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

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 Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.