When to Plant Lupine in Caribou, ME

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The best time to plant lupine in Caribou should be estimated by looking at 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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Caribou is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lupine and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Caribou. It might get as low as -30°F during 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 Caribou and it is different every year. Half of the time in Caribou there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Caribou

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Caribou

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