One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Springfield it's possible to figure out when it's the best time 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 do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Springfield 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your lupine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Springfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°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 Springfield and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Springfield there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

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 Springfield

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