One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when you can plant poppies is to check out the USDA zone info for Dawson.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Dawson 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Dawson. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dawson is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dawson there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dawson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dawson

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