One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Champaign you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant iceland poppy.

Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

You can plant iceland poppy a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Champaign 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 iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your iceland poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Champaign and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Champaign it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your iceland poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

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 Champaign

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