One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant lupine is to look at the USDA zone info for Oconomowoc.

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 a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Oconomowoc. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Oconomowoc is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Oconomowoc you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lupine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oconomowoc

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 Oconomowoc

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