One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Versailles you can estimate when it's the best time to plant lupine by using 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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Versailles 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Versailles. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Versailles 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 Versailles you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lupine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Versailles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Versailles

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