When to Plant Iceland Poppy in Palm Desert, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The first chance to plant iceland poppy in Palm Desert should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

Iceland Poppy do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Palm Desert 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. If you wait any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your iceland poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Palm Desert the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palm Desert and it is different every year. Half of the time in Palm Desert you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your iceland poppy if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Desert

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Palm Desert

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Desert.