When to Plant California Poppy in Los Banos, CA

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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Los Banos it's possible to determine when you can plant california poppy.


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 slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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 Los Banos 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. Any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Los Banos. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Los Banos is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Los Banos it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Banos

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 Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°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 Los Banos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Banos.