When to Plant California Poppy in Long Beach, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Long Beach you can estimate when it's possible to plant california poppy by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for California Poppy

Frost tolerance for california poppy: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant california poppy a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant california poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant california poppy
Probably not a good time to plant california poppy

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Long Beach 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 california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Long Beach the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Long Beach is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Long Beach last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your california poppy if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.