One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Keokuk can be reffered to in order to figure out when you can plant oriental poppies.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Oriental poppies can survive in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Keokuk. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Keokuk is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Keokuk it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Keokuk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Keokuk

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