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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Litchfield it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to 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.

You can plant oriental poppies a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Litchfield 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Litchfield and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Litchfield you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Litchfield

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 Litchfield

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