One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 figuring out when it's the best time to plant california poppy is to use the USDA zone info for Fort Valley.

Planting Calendar for California Poppy

Frost tolerance for california poppy:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

California Poppy do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Fort Valley is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Fort Valley. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Valley 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 Fort Valley you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Valley.