One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Meriden can be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies.

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 a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Meriden 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. If you wait any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Meriden. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Meriden is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Meriden you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Meriden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Meriden

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