The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant poppies is to examine the USDA zone info for El Dorado.

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 a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in El Dorado 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. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in El Dorado. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Dorado is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in El Dorado last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

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 El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.