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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant lupine is to check out the USDA zone info for North Branch.

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 a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in North Branch 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lupine may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lupine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in North Branch. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for North Branch is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in North Branch you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Branch

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 North Branch

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Branch.