Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant poppies in Decorah can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

You can plant poppies just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Decorah 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Decorah. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decorah may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Decorah last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decorah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Decorah

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