When to Plant Lupine in Westminster, MD

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Westminster can be used to determine when you can plant lupine.


Planting Calendar for Lupine

Frost tolerance for lupine: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant lupine just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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 Westminster 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Westminster. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Westminster and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Westminster last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lupine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Westminster

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 Westminster

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