Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant lupine by referring to the USDA zone info for Hickory.

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

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Hickory 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. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hickory the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hickory is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hickory it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hickory

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