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

You should be able to figure out when you can plant lupine by checking out the USDA zone info for Portland.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Lupine can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Portland 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 fully mature. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Portland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portland and it is different every year. Half of the time in Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

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