When to Plant Lupine in West Chester, PA

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

The earliest that you can plant lupine in West Chester should be figured out by reviewing 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.

Since lupine are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 West Chester 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 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 April 15 in West Chester. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chester is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in West Chester last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lupine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in West Chester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chester.