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 Fitzgerald should be used to estimate when you can plant poppies.

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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Fitzgerald 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 fully mature. Starting your poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Fitzgerald. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fitzgerald may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fitzgerald last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fitzgerald

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 Fitzgerald

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