One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Atascadero can be reviewed to determine when it's the best time to plant oriental poppies.

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 can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Atascadero 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. Any later than that and 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Atascadero the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Atascadero may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Atascadero last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Atascadero

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Atascadero

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