Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant lupine by checking out the USDA zone info for Rio Rancho.

Planting Calendar for Lupine

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

Lupine do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Rio Rancho 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. If you wait any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rio Rancho. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rio Rancho is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rio Rancho there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rio Rancho

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 Rio Rancho

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rio Rancho.