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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant california poppy is to refer to the USDA zone info for Bettendorf.

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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Bettendorf 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. Any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your california poppy indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bettendorf. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bettendorf is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bettendorf there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your california poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bettendorf

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bettendorf

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