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.

A common way of estimating when you can plant lupine is to use the USDA zone info for Natchez.

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 little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Natchez 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Natchez. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Natchez and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Natchez you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lupine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Natchez

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchez

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