When to Plant California Poppy in Franklin Park, IL

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.

In Franklin Park you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant california poppy 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.

You can plant california poppy a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate 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 Franklin Park 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Franklin Park. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin Park is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Franklin Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your california poppy if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin Park

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 Franklin Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Franklin Park.