One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Wisconsin Rapids can be used to determine when it's a good idea to 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 a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lupine in Wisconsin Rapids 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Wisconsin Rapids. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wisconsin Rapids may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Wisconsin Rapids there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your lupine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wisconsin Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Wisconsin Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Wisconsin Rapids.