When to Plant Lupine in Johnstown, NY

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

In Johnstown you can determine when you can plant lupine by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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 Johnstown 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Johnstown. It might get as low as -20°F during 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 Johnstown and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Johnstown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your lupine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Johnstown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Johnstown

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