One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can figure out when you can plant oriental poppies in Gunnison by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

You can plant oriental poppies just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Gunnison is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. Any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your oriental 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 May 15 in Gunnison. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gunnison may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gunnison you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gunnison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°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 -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gunnison

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