When to Plant California Poppy in Buffalo Grove, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Buffalo Grove can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant california poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant california poppy
Probably not a good time to plant california poppy

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Buffalo Grove 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. If you wait 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Buffalo Grove the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Buffalo Grove and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Buffalo Grove last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo Grove

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 Buffalo Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Buffalo Grove.