When to Plant Lupine in Livingston, MT

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant lupine is to use the USDA zone info for Livingston.


Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Lupine tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lupine
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lupine
Probably not a good time to plant lupine

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Livingston 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 grow to maturity. 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 Livingston. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Livingston and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Livingston you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Livingston

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 Livingston

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