Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Lake Charles it's possible to determine when you can plant oriental poppies.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Lake Charles is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. 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 all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Lake Charles. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Charles and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Charles you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Charles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Charles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Charles.