When to Plant Lupine in Bowie, MD

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Bowie it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea 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 are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 Bowie 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bowie. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bowie and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bowie there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lupine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bowie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Bowie

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