When to Plant California Poppy in Wake Forest, NC

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 determining when it's possible to plant california poppy is to consult the USDA zone info for Wake Forest.


Planting Calendar for California Poppy

Frost tolerance for california poppy: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

California Poppy tend to make it in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant california poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant california poppy
Probably not a good time to plant california poppy

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Wake Forest 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 california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Wake Forest. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wake Forest and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Wake Forest you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your california poppy if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Wake Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Wake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Wake Forest.