When to Plant Lupine in Zone 1b

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 1b it's possible to figure out 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive 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 Zone 1b is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lupine and expect a good harvest is probably July. Any later than that and your lupine may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lupine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on June 15 in Zone 1b. You can expect an average low temperature of -55°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 1b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 1b you get a frost after June 15 be ready to cover your lupine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-55°F
Highest Expected Low-50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -50°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1b.