One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies is to check out the USDA zone info for Grand Junction.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Oriental poppies do ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Grand Junction 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 oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Junction the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Junction is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Grand Junction you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Junction

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Junction

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Junction.