One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 Benton you can estimate when it's possible to plant california poppy by checking out 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.

California Poppy can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Benton 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

In Benton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Benton is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Benton there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Benton

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