One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Natchitoches it's a good idea to determine when to plant iceland poppy.

Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

Since iceland poppy do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Natchitoches is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your iceland poppy may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your iceland poppy indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Natchitoches. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Natchitoches and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Natchitoches there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your iceland poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Natchitoches

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchitoches

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