One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Moorhead should be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to 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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Moorhead is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant poppies and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your 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 when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Moorhead. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°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 Moorhead and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Moorhead last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Moorhead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Moorhead

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