When to Plant Lupine in Willowbrook, IL

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.

The first opportunity to plant lupine in Willowbrook can be estimated by checking out 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 can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lupine
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lupine
Probably not a good time to plant lupine

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Willowbrook 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. If you are starting your lupine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Willowbrook 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Willowbrook is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Willowbrook there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Willowbrook

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 Willowbrook

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