One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant iceland poppy is to check out the USDA zone info for Ceres.

Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

Since iceland poppy do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Ceres 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 iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your iceland poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your iceland poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ceres. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ceres is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ceres you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your iceland poppy if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ceres

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 Ceres

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