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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Smiths Station it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant california poppy.

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 can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Smiths Station 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. If you wait any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Smiths Station. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Smiths Station is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Smiths Station you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your california poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smiths Station

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 Smiths Station

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Smiths Station.