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.

In Albert Lea you can figure out when it's possible to plant lupine 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 can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Albert Lea 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. If you wait any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Albert Lea. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Albert Lea may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Albert Lea you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Albert Lea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Albert Lea

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Albert Lea.