When to Plant Lupine in Beaver Dam, WI

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Beaver Dam you can estimate when it's possible to plant lupine by referring to 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.

Lupine do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 Beaver Dam 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 really do well. If you are starting your lupine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Beaver Dam. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Beaver Dam and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Beaver Dam you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Beaver Dam

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 Beaver Dam

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Beaver Dam.