Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Yorkville you can determine when it's a good idea to plant california poppy by referring to 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 just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Yorkville 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Yorkville. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Yorkville is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Yorkville it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Yorkville

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 Yorkville

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