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 best time to plant poppies in Odessa should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Odessa 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Odessa. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Odessa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Odessa last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

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 Odessa

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