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 looking at the USDA zone info for Mission it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant california poppy.

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 slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Mission 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mission 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 Mission is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mission there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission

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 Mission

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