One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Saranac Lake should be looked at to determine when you can plant lupine.

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 get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Saranac Lake 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. Any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lupine indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Saranac Lake. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Saranac Lake is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Saranac Lake you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saranac Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Saranac Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Saranac Lake.