Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Thurmont should be estimated 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.

Lupine are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Thurmont 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 really do well. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Thurmont. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Thurmont is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Thurmont you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Thurmont

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 Thurmont

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