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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Niles you should be able to determine when it's possible 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 tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Niles 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. 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 Niles. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Niles may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Niles it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Niles

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