One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lake Charles can be reviewed to estimate when you can plant poppies.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

Frost tolerance for poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since poppies are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Lake Charles. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Charles and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Charles last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your 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.