One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Montgomery you can figure out when to plant poppies by checking out 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.

Poppies do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Montgomery 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Montgomery. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Montgomery may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Montgomery you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Montgomery

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Montgomery

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