Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant poppies in Santa Cruz should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

Frost tolerance for poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant poppies just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Santa Cruz is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Cruz. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your poppies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Cruz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Cruz.