The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant oriental poppies in Atherton can be determined by reviewing 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 tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Atherton 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. If you wait 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Atherton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Atherton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Atherton you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your oriental poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Atherton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Atherton

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