When to Plant Iceland Poppy in Portland, ME

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.

You can determine when to plant iceland poppy in Portland by reviewing the USDA zone info.


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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant iceland poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant iceland poppy
Probably not a good time to plant iceland poppy

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Portland 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. Any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your iceland poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Portland is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Portland last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your iceland poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

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