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When to Plant Oriental poppies in Kalamazoo, MI

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

In Kalamazoo you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Since oriental poppies are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oriental poppies
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oriental poppies
Probably not a good time to plant oriental poppies

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Kalamazoo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your oriental poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Kalamazoo. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Kalamazoo is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Kalamazoo there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kalamazoo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Kalamazoo

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