The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant lupine is to use the USDA zone info for Hondo.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Hondo 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Hondo is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hondo there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hondo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Hondo

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