One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In West Frankfort you can determine when you can plant oriental poppies by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in West Frankfort 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Frankfort. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Frankfort may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in West Frankfort you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Frankfort

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in West Frankfort

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Frankfort.