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

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant california poppy is to refer to the USDA zone info for Chesterton.

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.

California Poppy can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Chesterton 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. Any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chesterton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chesterton is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chesterton there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chesterton

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 Chesterton

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