When to Plant Poppies in Mountain View, 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Mountain View you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant poppies.


Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Mountain View 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Mountain View. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mountain View and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mountain View there is a last frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mountain View

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Mountain View

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mountain View.