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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for New Smyrna Beach it's a good idea to figure out when you can 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 little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in New Smyrna Beach 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 oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oriental poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Smyrna Beach 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 an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Smyrna Beach and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Smyrna Beach you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Smyrna Beach

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 New Smyrna Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Smyrna Beach.