One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant oriental poppies is to consult the USDA zone info for Bel Air.

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 means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Bel Air 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 oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bel Air and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bel Air it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bel Air

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 Bel Air

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bel Air.