When to Plant Iceland Poppy in Ridgecrest, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant iceland poppy by checking out the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest.


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 well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 Ridgecrest 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 iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your iceland poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Ridgecrest. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ridgecrest is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ridgecrest you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your iceland poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgecrest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ridgecrest

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