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

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant poppies is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ocoee.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Ocoee 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ocoee the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ocoee is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocoee you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ocoee

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 Ocoee

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