One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Forest Lake should be determined by reviewing 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 do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Forest Lake 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 really do well. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Forest Lake. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Forest Lake is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Forest Lake last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Lake

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 Forest Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest Lake.