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.

The first opportunity to plant oriental poppies in San Luis can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Oriental poppies do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in San Luis 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 oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Luis the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Luis may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Luis you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your oriental poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Luis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Luis

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Luis.