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 first opportunity to plant poppies in Carthage should be estimated by reviewing 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 are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Carthage 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 fully mature. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Carthage. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Carthage and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carthage last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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